Home Air Anduril, Area-I unveil new XL ALTIUS-700 air-launched UAV

Anduril, Area-I unveil new XL ALTIUS-700 air-launched UAV

air-launched effect drone ALTIUS 700
ALTIUS-700; Photo: Area-I

US unmanned aerial vehicle developers Area-I and Anduril have introduced the newest and largest-yet member of the ALTIUS family of “air launched effects” (ALE) with the launch of ALTIUS 700.

The ALTIUS-700 builds on the ALTIUS-600, while offering greater payload capacity and higher endurance.

According to the two companies, the ALTIUS-700 carries 300 percent more payload than the -600 and endures up to five hours of flight, depending on payloads, which are customizable and include ISR, cUAS, electronic warfare, munitions and signals intelligence.

Area-I moved rapidly to prototype and test the ALTIUS-700 in less than 12 months, iterating on the -600, a proven and reliable ALE that can be launched from ground and utility vehicles, watercraft, and fixed or rotor wing aircraft in both high and low altitude.

ALTIUS is designed for a range of mission capabilities, including expeditionary deployment by air, mobile ground or maritime forces. ALTIUS can detect, identify and locate adversary systems, then disable them with lethal and non-lethal effects.

The ALTIUS platform is an open system capable of integrating with a variety of flight control software. It is capable of autonomous teaming solutions, allowing individual unmanned systems to collaborate and share data with each other to achieve mission objectives that would be impossible via a single unit.

Air launched effects (ALEs) are a critical component of the Army’s vision for Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) and Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA), enabling a variety of ISR, CUAS, electronic warfare, and other capabilities in contested or denied environments.