BELFAST ― The UK has down-selected a group of four competitors to develop drone wingman aircraft capable of teaming with British Army Apache attack helicopters.
Britain’s BAE Systems, as well as the British arms of US-based Anduril, Portugal’s Tekever and French manufacturer Thales, have been chosen for the concept demonstrator effort, dubbed Project NYX, which includes a funding package of £10 million ($13.4 million), the Ministry of Defence announced today.
The MoD said that all drone designs are to be evaluated and narrowed down to at most two competitors over the next few months for a prototype design phase “before a final partner is chosen later this year.”
“If the prototype designs prove successful, the aim is to field an operational variant for use by 2030,” added the MoD statement. The latest down-select comes after a field of seven competitors were picked in January to put forward their designs.
The MoD said the surviving designs “include a variety of uncrewed air systems, each offering innovative autonomy, payloads and sensors.”
The loyal wingmen or adjunct aircraft are expected to fly alongside Apaches in a number of missions including reconnaissance, precision strike, target acquisition and electronic warfare.
Project NYX captures what the UK MoD claims is a pivot toward a “new way of war,” documented in the strategic defense review last year. The publication calls for an increased use of uncrewed and autonomous capabilities, to deliver additional combat mass.
“Project NYX is delivery of that work in action, capitalising on the power of drones, AI and autonomy to complement the ‘heavy metal’ of tanks and artillery,” said the MoD recently.
Richard Drake, managing director of Anduril UK, said that over the “last few years” the company has “invested tens of millions of pounds of our own money to develop a new capability that we will deliver for NYX.“
“That early investment is paying off: we have already completed test flights of our full-scale surrogate vehicle, consistently expanding the flight envelope each time,” he said. Anduril UK hasn’t revealed the name of its drone design, which a spokesperson for the company’s PR agency told Breaking Defense would be revealed in “due course.”
In a post on X today, BAE Systems Air division said that it is partnering with local supplier Certo Aerospace “to meet the British Army’s requirement for an uncrewed partner for its Apache attack helicopter.” Certo’s coaxial CAPSTONE drone is being pitched.
Without mentioning a specific aircraft, Thales noted in a February statement that it is “well positioned to support” Project NYX, by “drawing on decades of experience in trusted autonomous systems, collaborative mission management, and the delivery of complex defence solutions.”
Tekever, meanwhile, will “rapidly develop, test, and demonstrate a UK-sovereign advanced rotary platform paired with AI-enabled mission autonomy and sensing” as part of the new assessment phase, according to comments shared with press today.
