US Army demonstrates AH-64E Apache ‘launched effects’ using Anduril Altius 700

The US Army has demonstrated an AH-64E Apache attack helicopter employing a ‘launched effect’ for the first time, executing a launch of Anduril Industries’ Altius 700 Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) at Yuma Proving Ground during Concept Focused Warfighting Experiment 26 (CFWE26).

By combining the Apache’s versatility and mobile strike maneuverability with Altius-700’s category-leading range, the integration demonstrated how launched effects can enhance US Army aviators’ situational awareness and strike capabilities in combat environments, says Anduril.

During the event the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center (DEVCOM AvMC) executed an airborne, rocket-powered launch of Altius-700, demonstrating how launched effects can expand the reach, lethality, and sensing capabilities of Army attack helicopters.

As the US Army refines how aviation formations deliver distributed sensing and precision effects, Altius 700 has served as the primary launched effects testbed for a new, government-developed universal launch system designed to unlock low-altitude launch capability for launched effects from rotary wing aircraft

The demonstration builds on a prior effort to integrate Altius with Army rotorcraft, culminating in a test event in September 2025 where the Army executed multiple successful airborne launches of Altius 700s from a UH-60 Blackhawk.

The Altius 700 comes in two forms: the Altius 700 which has an endurance of 4 hours, a claimed range of more than 460km and is used in the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Electronic Warfare (EW) roles; and the Altius 700M which carries a 33lb (15kg) warhead in the Loitering Munition role and has an endurance of about 1.25hr and a range of about 160km.

The combination of manned-to-unmanned teaming provides Army leaders autonomous tools that are rapidly deployable and deliver on-demand effects for multiple mission sets, Anduril says. The Apache mission represents a critical step forward in advancing the Army’s launched effects vision of the integration of autonomous and attritable assets at mass, it adds.