How Anduril's new 'Thunder system' could reshape the future of drone warfare - analysis

BySETH J. FRANTZMANJULY 21, 2026 16:01Updated: JULY 21, 2026 16:09A new video by the US defense company Anduril has shown an interesting and exciting new possibility for unmanned aerial warfare and the concept of manned-unmanned teaming in war. The system is called Thunder, and the company calls it an “autonomous attack rotorcraft specifically designed to multiply the combat power and increase the survivability of current and next-generation crewed attack and assault aircraft.”The video, which was released as the Farnborough Airshow began in the UK, begins by showing how vulnerable traditional, large drones are to air defenses. This is important because it's clear that as the drone revolution continues in the United States, Israel, China, and other countries, some older systems will become less relevant. Companies like Anduril, as well as many Israeli defense companies, are pointing the way to the future.Anduril says “Thunder is equipped with the payload capacity and open architecture required to deliver overwhelming effects for any mission, engineered with the survivability, speed and range critical for the deep fight, and built on flight-proven autonomy that enables validated, high-performance teaming with crewed assets.” The company also notes that “Thunder is the defense-specific variant of a dual-use platform co-developed with Archer Aviation, bringing the commercial VTOL sector's rapid innovation in electric propulsion and rotor design directly into defense.” This matters increasingly on the battlefield and also in the broader context of unmanned systems. Anduril is also reported to be considering an expansion of its interest in Israel. This matters for the future of drone warfare.The future showcased on Ukrainian battlefieldsSome of that future is already on display in the battles in Ukraine. Many countries are looking at what is happening in Ukraine and trying to learn lessons about what massive numbers of drones being deployed on the battlefield will mean. For instance, when you deal with tens of thousands of drones being deployed on a daily basis across hundreds of miles of front lines, in which every infantry unit is using small drones, that means the battlefield has substantially changed.It's not just small drones that will transform the battlefield; it's obviously the whole multi-layered approach of drone warfare. One part of that approach is the concept of manned-unmanned teaming. What this means is that you have an existing manned platform, like a warplane, a helicopter, a tank, a submarine, or a frigate, and then you have an unmanned platform serving alongside it, working together.The concept is that the unmanned system would be able to go into areas that are more dangerous or conduct more tedious work where human operators are less effective because people become tired over time. The new video shows a system called Thunder. This appears to be a type of tiltrotor aircraft system in which the aircraft work together, with some being manned and some unmanned.In the video, the unmanned helicopter is sent in against a concentration of air defenses. While the manned Apaches, shown at the beginning of the video, are potentially vulnerable to these air defenses, the unmanned system flies ahead of them and launches a large number of small drones and other decoys. These are able to neutralize the air defense threat and then target the sites associated with it.A future with larger unmanned platformsThis is an interesting concept. It points toward a future where we will not only see manned-unmanned teaming, but where larger unmanned platforms, such as a tiltrotor aircraft, will carry large numbers of other drones. This includes: Small drones that can attack other small drones, decoys, and other specialized systems that can conduct surveillanceThis raises questions, as drone warfare appears to be heading toward a point where we will see massive numbers of diverse drones integrated with other large systems, whether they are mounted on tanks, armored vehicles, or vessels.More notably, the drones themselves will carry other drones. For instance, you could launch a platform such as the American MQ-9 Reaper that carries and drops its own munitions or smaller drones. It could even carry loitering munitions, which are often referred to as one-way attack or kamikaze drones. However, Reapers have been shown to be vulnerable to air defenses in Iran and Yemen.Deploying drones from a Reaper makes sense because it enables the vulnerable platform to stand off at a distance and send in cheaper drones that can carry out missions. The cheaper drones are what is known as “attritable,” meaning it’s better to use large numbers of cheap systems than lose a larger warplane. On land, air, and sea, this is increasingly becoming a norm.This creates exponential opportunities. It is worth thinking of this type of drone warfare as a chess game: the opening moves are probably known, but the various ways in which the game will develop are not only exponential, but very difficult to foresee.Follow us on Google