Anduril UK deepens partnerships with UK industry for British Army’s Project NYX

Anduril UK has announced an exclusive teaming agreement with UK firm GKN Aerospace in Cowes, Isle of Wight, to collaborate on the British Army’s £100 million ($200 million) Project NYX and the Ministry of Defence’s Land Autonomous Collaborative Platform program. The Project NYX Request for Tender (RFT) is due out on 19 December – the program aims to develop a Capability Concept Demonstrator (CCD) for an uncrewed Autonomous Collaborative Platform (ACP) for the Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopter.

The UK Ministry of Defence (UK MoD) wants the ACP to operate in a highly autonomous, ‘commanded not controlled’ manner to perform multi-mission tasks in contested airspace, including reconnaissance, target acquisition, strike, countermeasure defeat, and integration with Launched Effects (LE), says the UK MoD. The ACP will enhance the lethality and survivability of the crewed platform and do so with a smaller logistic footprint and lower maintenance burden relative to the crewed platform, according to the Ministry.

A maximum of four contenders will receive contracts during the first quarter of 2026 for initial development, with the winning tenderer(s) named and awarded a development contract in the third quarter. The solution(s) will be demonstrated at a major ACP demonstration during the second quarter of 2027. The CCAD activity is scheduled to end with a final demonstration at the start of 2028.

Through its partnership with Anduril, GKN Aerospace will become Anduril UK’s airframe manufacturing and electrical integration partner for Project NYX and other future programs. GKN Aerospace already employs nearly 1000 people at its airframe production facility in Cowes and the partnership will explore future opportunities there.

Anduril’s Project NYX team will bring advanced capabilities and additional investment, job creation, and competition into the UK market, the company says. US firm Archer Aviation will also collaborate with GKN Aerospace and Anduril UK, bringing the latest advancements in eVTOL aircraft development and hybrid propulsion to meet the British Army’s operational requirements, says Anduril UK in a media release.

With Anduril as the lead systems integrator, GKN Aerospace as the airframe manufacturing partner, Archer’s eVTOL expertise, and other domestic suppliers and partners, Anduril UK’s Project NYX team pairs the best of British innovation and manufacturing expertise with leading capabilities supported by global investment in enabling technologies, the company adds.