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Roadrunner
Photo: Mztourist · CC BY 4.0 (opens commons.wikimedia.org)

Roadrunner

by Anduril IndustriesUS

DeployStage 4 of 5

In production to shoot down drones and defend against air attacks.

Updated 29 Sep 2025Checked 25 Sep0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Scaled production
  1. Roadrunner unveiledDec 2023Complete.
  2. US contracts to use it against drones2024Complete.
  3. Scaled productionNowCurrent milestone.

Most important updates

  • 29 Sep 2025
  • 30 Apr 2025
  • 8 Oct 2024

Physics limits

  • Hovering on jet thrust burns fuel very fastTo take off and land vertically the engines must push more than the aircraft weighs. Small turbojets are inefficient, so the hover phases eat much of the fuel and keep missions short.
  • Blast fragments thin out with distanceFragments spread over a growing sphere, so their density falls with the square of distance. The interceptor must get within a few metres of a fast, dodging target, which demands precise guidance.

How it works

3 parts
Roadrunner standing on its tail on landing legs: it takes off straight up on twin jet engines and, if not needed, flies back to land like this
Roadrunner standing on its tail on landing legs: it takes off straight up on twin jet engines and, if not needed, flies back to land like thisCourtesy of Anduril Industries · Press kit, editorial use (opens anduril.com)
Launch

Straight up from a box

Two small jet engines lift it vertically out of a launch container, with no runway or rail, so it can be ready in seconds.

Intercept

Chase and explode near the target

Sensors and onboard software steer it at high subsonic speed toward a drone or missile; a warhead bursts close enough for fragments to hit.

Recover

Land and reuse if not needed

If the threat disappears, it flies back and lands on its engines' thrust, so a false alarm doesn't use up an interceptor.

Update log

3 updates

Mon 29 Sep 2025

  • Minor: PressTest

Wed 30 Apr 2025

  • Minor: PressManufacturing

Tue 8 Oct 2024

  • Major: PressCommercial

About Anduril Industries

The team behind Roadrunner

Anduril Industries

Fury drone jet, Lattice software, Arsenal-1

Anduril is a defense company building self-driving air, sea and land systems run by its Lattice software. Its Fury drone jet was picked for production by the US Air Force, and it builds aircraft at its Arsenal-1 factory in Ohio.

  • Fury first flew on 31 Oct 2025 and was picked for Air Force production in June 2026.
  • Started building Fury at Arsenal-1, Ohio, in 2026; the first Ohio-built Fury was done in July.
  • Raised $5B at a $61B valuation in May 2026, double its June 2025 valuation.

anduril.com (opens anduril.com)Company profile →

Founded
20179 yrs
Headquarters
United States
Status
Private
Valuation
$61BprivateMay 2026
Raised
$9B3 rounds
Last round
Series H · $5BMay 2026$61B post
Works in
AviationMilitary drones & autonomyAIManufacturing
Coverage
2 programs · 10 updateslatest 27 Jul 2026checked 25 Sep
Lead investors
Founders FundSands Capital
Customers
U.S. Air Force (opens af.mil)
Partners
General Atomics (opens ga.com)Archer Aviation
People
Palmer Luckey (opens en.wikipedia.org)FounderBrian SchimpfCo-founder and CEOTrae Stephens (opens en.wikipedia.org)Co-founder and Executive Chairman
Primer