A California defense startup worth $30 billion is teaming up with a British engineering company to build parts for autonomous fighter drones on the Isle of Wight, and the whole thing depends on winning a Ministry of Defence contract. Anduril Industries, founded by the guy who made Oculus VR, wants to produce aircraft that can fly alongside Apache helicopters and handle reconnaissance and strikes in dangerous airspace. The project is called NYX, and officials are throwing around $100 million just for the design phase over the next couple of years.
The military has been watching what drones are doing in Ukraine, and they want something that makes their helicopters more effective while cutting down on maintenance costs. Anduril has been building connections with UK manufacturers for a while, and they claim their supply chain already keeps 50,000 people employed. Local politicians are hyped about bringing advanced manufacturing jobs to the area, especially since Britain is planning to pump defense spending up to $73.5 billion by 2028.
The military has been watching what drones are doing in Ukraine, and they want something that makes their helicopters more effective while cutting down on maintenance costs. Anduril has been building connections with UK manufacturers for a while, and they claim their supply chain already keeps 50,000 people employed. Local politicians are hyped about bringing advanced manufacturing jobs to the area, especially since Britain is planning to pump defense spending up to $73.5 billion by 2028.
