On July 20, 2026, Anduril Industries and Archer Aviation unveiled the unmanned convertiplane* Thunder at the Farnborough International Airshow — a Group 5-class (aircraft weighing over 600 kg) combat platform designed to operate alongside crewed attack helicopters.

According to the developers, Thunder is designed to enhance teaming. A single crewed helicopter can take off with multiple unmanned Thunder aircraft. They handle the dangerous portion of a mission while the crew focuses on managing the entire group. The company calls this “mass multiplication” — meaning one crewed aircraft, through the use of several unmanned systems, can engage more targets and sustain combat operations longer.

Modular bays in the fuselage and nose section allow Thunder to be configured for a variety of missions:

  • The primary module can carry up to 10 AGM-114 Hellfire missiles or equivalents.
  • An alternative configuration features four pods of 19 laser-guided 70 mm APKWS II rockets each.

Anduril Chief Strategy Officer Chris Brose told journalists:

Many of the design decisions built into Thunder are informed by lessons that the United States and its European allies are drawing from the war in Ukraine. This is primarily about tactical warfare in the low-altitude environment.

The company explained the rationale behind Thunder’s development: the proliferation of drones in ground warfare has led to a positional stalemate. Crewed attack helicopters are increasingly threatened by a combination of loitering munitions, low-cost air defenses, and persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance. This has turned the low-altitude environment into one of the most lethal spaces on the battlefield.

The aircraft is still in development, and company representatives say its first flight is expected in 2027.

*A convertiplane is an aircraft capable of taking off vertically and then, by tilting its rotors, transitioning to high-speed horizontal flight. It combines the advantages of a helicopter (requiring only a small, flat area for launch) and a combat unmanned drone.