Anduril’s Roadrunner interceptor makes Australian debut at Land Forces 2024

US high-technology company Anduril displayed its Roadrunner autonomous air vehicle for the first time in Australia at Land Forces 2024.

The company says Roadrunner is a radically new, recoverable, cost-effective kinetic interceptor for ground-based air defence. The modular twin-jet powered autonomous air vehicle operates at high subsonic speed. It takes off vertically, identifies, follows and intercepts a wide variety of aerial threats, including large Group 3 Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) and even bigger crewed and uncrewed aircraft.

If there’s no need to destroy the target, Roadrunner can simply return to base and land at a pre-designated location for immediate refuelling and reuse, the company says. This radical shift in operational concept allows for large-scale, early defensive launches at extraordinarily low cost, increasing redundancy for higher probability of lethality and enhancing the ability to simultaneously engage many targets.

Anduril’s Senior Vice President, LTGEN (Retired) Neil Thurgood, delivered a keynote speech at Land Forces 2024 on ‘Adapting Innovation at the Speed of Technology’.

“We’re excited to introduce Roadrunner as part of our end-to-end counter UAS system to the Australian market,” said David Goodrich, OAM, CEO of Anduril Australia. “Across recent conflicts we have seen malicious actors increasingly using state-owned and commercially-available drone technology with devastating effect against more exquisite systems. It is critical that advanced counter UAS systems are in place to protect Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel and equipment against these asymmetric threats.

“Anduril takes a ‘family of systems’ counter-UAS approach, deploying a range of active and passive sensors, and kinetic and non-kinetic effectors, coordinated by our advanced Lattice OS Command and Control capability,” he added.

“Roadrunner has been tried and tested in the toughest and some of the most complicated operational environments around the world. Being significantly cheaper than exquisite missile systems, Roadrunner enables warfighters to cost effectively deal with the rapidly evolving UAS threat environment.”

Roadrunner is already in service with US defence customers and providing air defence capabilities in some of the most complex operational environments around the world, it adds.