Billionaire Palmer Luckey Unveils Jet-Powered VTOL Kamikaze Drone
Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus, is positioning Anduril Industries, his Southern California startup defense firm, to challenge military-industrial complex giants such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and General Dynamics.
Luckey revealed on X that Anduril Industries has developed an affordable vertical takeoff and landing drone that can be reused on surveillance or kamikaze missions.
Introducing:
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) December 1, 2023
Roadrunner, a compact VTOL drone powered by twin thrust-vectored turbojet engines with extraordinary speed, range, and payload capacity.
&
Roadrunner-M, a radical new low-cost weapon that allows for unprecedented tactics against powerful threats. pic.twitter.com/2C7Ga0h1Hf
Anduril told Forbes that the US Special Operations Command signed a $12.5 million contract last year for the autonomous jet-powered drone called "Roadrunner. "
Roadrunner is a modular aircraft with payloads that can execute a wide variety of missions. Firefighting, search and rescue, organ delivery, anything where you need a drone that launches in seconds and moves an order of magnitude faster than the next best option. pic.twitter.com/m7lOOQs371
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) December 1, 2023
"Roadrunner-M is a variant model equipped with a high explosive warhead and Anduril seeker capable of intercepting, surveilling, and destroying fast-moving threats. It is effective against a wide range of threats, including full-size aircraft that cost 100x more," Palmer wrote on X.
Roadrunner-M is a variant model equipped with a high explosive warhead and Anduril seeker capable of intercepting, surveilling, and destroying fast-moving threats. It is effective against a wide range of threats, including full-size aircraft that cost 100x more. pic.twitter.com/ojg6pbtpsA
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) December 1, 2023
The company said Roadrunner can travel at speeds upwards of 700 mph. It's launched from a climate-controlled box called a "Nest."
Nest is a companion product to Roadrunner, Roadrunner-M, and other Roadrunner variants in development. An automated hangar+technician that ensures Roadrunner is always ready to launch by autonomously monitoring, testing, and maintaining the aircraft inside. pic.twitter.com/N1PYZVVnJf
— Palmer Luckey (@PalmerLuckey) December 1, 2023
Luckey is leveraging his Silicon Valley background to disrupt the defense sector. By establishing new facilities, factories, and manufacturing lines, his company aims to gain a competitive advantage over traditional defense contractors, which are often burdened with older factories and cost overruns.
