The US Air Force and Defense Innovation Unit have chosen Anduril and Zone 5 Technologies to advance in their modular and cost-effective air vehicle program.
Anduril put forward its Barracuda-500 autonomous air vehicle (AAV) for the Enterprise Test Vehicle (ETV) program, while Zone 5 Technologies endorsed its Rusty Dagger Open Weapon Platform, beating out competitors Leidos Dynetics and Integrated Solutions for Systems from the previous round.
The ETV initiative was originally launched to create an unmanned aerial vehicle testbed to validate subsystems, but the program now aims to develop a prototype that will serve as the baseline architecture for a next-generation airborne platform.
One of the ETV’s intended uses includes the capability to be a potential palletized munitions platform; deploying affordable, mass-producible munitions that are being developed under the Franklin Affordable Mass Missile (FAMM) program.
In the next phase of the program, the California-based firms’ prototypes will undergo further development, including subsystem integration and testing.
Barracuda-500
Launched via fighter jets like the F-16 or from military transport aircraft like the C-17 and C-130, Anduril’s Barracuda-500 AAV has a range of over 500 nautical miles (575 miles/926 kilometers) and a payload of more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms).
The company’s AAV performed an end-to-end flight test for the ETV program in September 2024 and will undergo another round of demonstrations highlighting its collaborative autonomous capabilities this year.
The capabilities include “simultaneous vertical launch of multiple Barracuda-500 systems, in-flight system-to-system communications, and how Lattice for Mission Autonomy enables the execution of novel collaborative autonomous behaviors designed to increase effectiveness in contested environments,” according to the press release.
In addition, Anduril will emphasize the AAV’s manufacturability and cost-effectiveness by producing several ETV units and “continuing development towards a production variant capable of rapidly scalable manufacture in 2026.”
Rusty Dagger Open Weapon Platform
Similar to Anduril’s Barracuda-500, Zone 5 Technologies’ ETV contender also performed demonstrations, including “palletized launch, pylon launch, long-duration missions, and high accuracy terminal engagement.”
The Rusty Dagger Open Weapon Platform has “rapidly demonstrated mature system capability and quickly transitions towards scaled production and mission readiness,” the company shared with Breaking Defense.
