Defense contractor Anduril unveils new AI-guided drone-hunting jet

WHILE IT SHARES A NAME WITH A CLASSIC CARTOON CHARACTER, A NEWLY UNVEILED DEFENSE PLATFORM IS LIGHT-YEARS AHEAD OF WILE E COYOTE’S NEMESIS. THE ROADRUNNER, AND THE ROADRUNNER-M, BOTH BUILT BY DEFENSE CONTRACTOR ANDURIL, ARE DESCRIBED BY THEIR MAKERS AS A-I GUIDED, DRONE HUNTING AUTONOMOUS JETS.

DESPITE SOUNDING LIKE THE NEWEST HIGH TECH TOY, THE MAN BEHIND THE PROJECT SAYS THE ROADRUNNERS ARE MOBILE, EFFECTIVE AND MAKE FINANCIAL SENSE BECAUSE THEY CAN BE EASILY DEPLOYED, AND KEEP SERVICE MEMBERS OUT OF HARM’S WAY AT A COST EFFECTIVE PRICE.

THE MAN HEADLINING THIS EFFORT IS NO STRANGER TO BRINGING NEW TECH TO MARKET. PALMER LUCKEY, BEST KNOWN AS THE FOUNDER OF OCULUS, AND THE CREATOR OF THE OCULUS RIFT, SAID IN AN INTERVIEW WITH C-NBC THE TWO-YEAR PROJECT WAS MOTIVATED BY THE INCREASED THREATS TO U-S AND ALLIED TROOPS FROM WHAT ARE KNOWN AS KAMIKAZE DRONES. 

WHAT MAKES THE ROADRUNNER DIFFERENT FROM EARLIER DRONE HUNTERS IS ITS ABILITY TO QUICKLY CARRY OUT A MISSION AND THEN RETURN TO WHERE IT WAS LAUNCHED FROM, SO IT CAN BE SERVICED AND RE-LOADED FOR ANOTHER MISSION IN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. 

IT CAN ALSO TAKE-OFF AND LAND VERTICALLY. ELIMINATING THE NEED FOR A RUNWAY AND  MAKING IT VERSATILE ENOUGH TO BE USED IN ANY KIND OF TERRAIN. 

THE ROADRUNNER-M IS A LONG-RANGE OPTION THAT CARRIES A HIGH-EXPLOSIVE WARHEAD THAT CAN GO AFTER JET-POWERED THREATS TO PROTECT THE TROOPS ON THE GROUND. WHILE THE BASE MODEL CAN BE FITTED WITH MODULAR PAYLOADS THAT CAN BE SENT TO HIT A SPECIFIC TARGET BEFORE TURNING BACK FOR ANOTHER MISSION. 

PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT TO THOSE CURRENTLY IN THE FIGHT, THE ROADRUNNERS AREN’T PROTOTYPES THAT EXIST ONLY ON PAPER. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH YAHOO FINANCE,  LUCKEY SAYS THESE UAVS ARE ALREADY IN PRODUCTION, WITH AN AS YET UNNAMED U-S MILITARY PARTNER SOON TO BE TAKING DELIVERY. 

ONE REASON WHY THE ROADRUNNER, AND THE ‘M’ VARIANT, CAN BE PRICED FAR BELOW THEIR COMPETITORS IN THE ARENA, IS THE WAY ANDURIL DEVELOPS AND MARKETS THEIR PRODUCTS ON THEIR OWN DIME. OPTING TO BUILD WITH THEIR OWN MONEY, RATHER THAN LOOKING TO WIN A DEFENSE FUNDED CONTRACT FOR PRODUCTION. ESSENTIALLY BRINGING A READY-MADE DEFENSE SYSTEM TO THE TABLE. THAT’S ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT AS THE THREAT TO AMERICAN TROOPS SERVING ABROAD COME UNDER AND INCREASING AMOUNT OF THREATS. 

SO WHAT WILL TAXPAYERS BE ON THE HOOK FOR WHEN IT COMES TO PUTTING THE ROADRUNNER IN THE HANDS OF THE U-S MILITARY? THE 31-YEAR-OLD LUCKEY TELLS FORBES IT’S IN THE LOW HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.