The Altius drone crashed twice during November 2025 tests, raising questions about Anduril’s reliability.
Anduril drone failures From Silicon Valley to the Defense Sector
Anduril’s story is fascinating. It was founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey and previously the founder of Oculus VR, then acquired by Facebook Luckey entered the defense sector. Why? Because he believes technology can transform warfare. Anduril makes autonomous weapons, such as drones, sensors, and command systems The company’s motto is “Lattice,” a software platform that connects all devices Since the end of 2022, the company’s valuation has tripled to $30.5 billion. In June 2025, it raised $2.5 billion from Founders Fund. The Ukraine war highlighted the importance of drones The US is increasing investment to counter China, which intensified under the Trump administration Anduril delivered drones to Taiwan, and then Luckey delivered his own in August 2025 The company claims its products are combat-ready. But reality tells a different story.
What happened in the November 2025 Altius crash?
Anduril drone failures Early November 2025 At Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, a US military aircraft launched an Altius drone for a test flight and surveillance demo However, the drone nose-dived from 8,000 feet and crashed into the ground, according to an Air Force report. A second test followed shortly after The second Altius also spiraled and crashed. These are the first such reports to be made public, and the company called them “isolated examples, said Shannon Pryor, a spokesperson These are rare in the hundreds of tests conducted.
Despite this, Altius has flown more than 2,000 hours in tests, demos, and deployments However, details of the results were not provided Responding to a Reuters query, the company posted a blog post, writing Failures are a necessary part of development,” Luckey said in a Taiwanese speech. “We build fast.” We deliver what works to those in need Yet, these crashes occurred on the same day as a Pentagon contract A $50 million deal for testing and training for Altius Whether these crashes will impact the contract is not yet clear, but questions have arisen Do the company’s claims match reality?
Ghost Drone Problems From Ukraine to Germany
The story of the Ghost drone is old Anduril sent 40 Ghosts to Ukraine at the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022 However, they were jammed by Russian electronic warfare, and satellite navigation failed Ukrainian soldiers were disappointed The company failed to understand the terrain and jamming. Sources said an updated Ghost X was released in December 2023 The company claimed the old problems were resolved But January 2025, Hohenfels, Germany.
A US Army exercise. The Ghost X lost control, spun, and crash-landed The video went viral on USArmyWTF Instagram A voice in the video said “I told you it would be a clusterfuck, and there was a rotor issue The company fixed it Major Jeffrey Carmichael said that hard landings are common with new technology, which can be caused by system failures and weather impacts The Ghost X performed well in cold, high altitude, and heat, but power management needs to be improved in extreme cold.
Other test failures: Fires, engine damage, and drone boats
Crashes aren’t limited to the Altius The Wall Street Journal report has more details May 2025 California coast. US Navy exercise. More than 30 drone boats launched, but more than 12 failed They went into fail-safe mode, stalling in the water, posing a risk Soldiers had to be towed overnight Safety violation warning issued until 9 a.m., which could have been life-threatening. Summer 2025 Ground test of Fury unmanned jet Engine damage from mechanical issue August 2025 Oregon counter-drone test system crash 22-acre fire Near Pendleton, which Anduril’s blog says. Software crashes occur. Hardware failed under stress Needs to be found in a controlled environment The company iterates rapidly. Takes user feedback.
Company’s response: Learning from Anduril drone failures
Palmer Lucky asked on X if the company would share stories behind testing, then posted a video captioning the crash landing as “developmental learnings Truckloads of leverage shipped to Ukraine in September 2025,” he said. Details were not provided Shannon Pryor said, “We’re proving new capabilities The test failures are intentional, which is what everyone initially struggled with on the Ukraine jamming. Teams made updates.” On Ghost X: “Old lessons applied.” Despite this, former staff and military officials say there’s a gap between Anduril’s claims and reality But the company admits it. “We do fail a lot.” This became their motto, as well as influence contracts, reputation, and markets How will these setbacks affect Anduril? Despite this, the Pentagon’s $50 million contract continues.
Then there’s the UK’s $40 million contract to Ukraine But scrutiny has increased The US defense industry faces challenges again Traditional systems are expensive: jets and missiles, but drones are cheap, mass-produced, as Ukraine demonstrated Companies like Anduril are a bridge, but failures erode confidence.
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