Altius 700 air-launched UAV completes first successful flight demonstration

An Altius (Air-Launched, Tube-Integrated Unmanned System) 700 UAV has been successfully launched from a Black Hawk helicopter marking a significant milestone in the Army’s Launched Effects programme.

The flight test took place last month under the auspices of the Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Project Management Office in collaboration with the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and was announced in late December 2023.

The first test flight of the fully integrated launched effects prototype is scheduled to take place early this year. The test will demonstrate the prototype’s performance with the payloads and mission system controlled by the prototype scalable control interface software.

The project office reported that ‘the two-flight demonstration yielded positive data that validates the Altius 700’s performance capabilities across all phases of operation, encompassing launch, flight, landing and recovery’.

‘The insights gained from the demonstration are instrumental to refining the system’s design and operating procedures ahead of the program’s upcoming test flights,’ noted a statement from the project office. 

Under declared plans additional testing will follow, leading up to a final operational demonstration by the end of the FY2024 and a rapid fielding decision of the launched effects prototype scheduled in 2025.

In July 2022, Anduril subsidiary Area-I was contracted to supply USSOCOM with an undisclosed variant of Altius under a US$30.5 million Small Business Innovation Research Phase III contract.