- Four industry partners selected to develop drone designs
capable of being the ‘wingmen' for Apache attack helicopters.
- The drones will increase lethality and survivability of the
Apaches, while reducing risk to personnel.
- All four designs to be assessed before a final partner is
chosen later this year.
Drones which will accompany the Army's Apache helicopters are
receiving £10 million investment today as the programme reaches a
new milestone.
Project NYX is the Army's concept demonstrator programme to
develop Uncrewed Air Systems (UAS), capable of operating as
‘loyal wingmen' to Apache crews across a range of missions.
These will include reconnaissance, precision strike, target
acquisition and electronic warfare in contested environments.
The drones will be fully autonomous with Apache pilots
benefitting from the information they're providing, without
needing to control them directly. All decisions which result in
the use of weapons will continue to be made by a human.
The four industry partners have been offered contracts and chosen
from a competitive field to develop the autonomous technology.
Their proposals include a variety of uncrewed air systems, each
offering innovative autonomy, payloads and sensors.
The MOD is planning to work with the four partners over the
coming months to assess each design, with the intention of taking
up to two of the strongest contenders forward to the next
phase.
Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, MP, said:
"This is British ingenuity at its best – cutting-edge drones
working alongside Apache helicopters to give our soldiers an
unbeatable advantage on the battlefield. The UK isn't just
keeping up with the future of warfare, we're driving it.
"This government said it would act with urgency to strengthen our
defences and back British industry, and that is exactly what we
are doing - investing now in the capabilities our Armed Forces
will need to stay ahead of our adversaries and keep this country
safe."
The shortlisted industry partners are as follows:
- Anduril Industries (UK) Ltd
- BAE Systems Operations Ltd
- Tekever Ltd
- Thales UK Ltd
The project shows how the MOD is delivering on the strategic
defence review, which placed a high importance on autonomous
technology for the armed forces.
Project NYX is an army aviation focussed project, being delivered
in conjunction with UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) as the delivery
agent. This builds and takes advantage of early funding and
development work carried out by their team, and is one of the
first steps towards greater British Army autonomy. UKDI is
supporting the project, providing specialist delivery,
commercial, engineering and safety expertise.
Up to two companies will be selected in Autumn 2026 to build
prototype designs. If the prototype designs prove successful, the
aim is to field an operational variant for use by 2030.
