Anduril wins $642 million Navy contract for AI-powered counter-drone systems

Defense startup Anduril Industries wins a $642 million Navy contract to deploy its Lattice AI platform for counter-drone operations across maritime and coastal environments. The contract is Anduril's largest to date and represents the Pentagon's accelerating shift toward AI-powered autonomous defense systems. Anduril CEO Palmer Luckey frames the deal as validating his company's "software-defined defense" model against traditional defense primes like Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. The contract requires Lattice to identify and neutralize drone threats without constant human authorization for each action — a level of autonomy that raises questions about accountability for wrongful targeting.