The Wall Street Journal reported late November, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, that Altius suicide drones manufactured by US company Anduril Industries have consistently encountered problems during field testing in Ukraine. A prominent issue is their vulnerability to Russian electronic warfare measures.

"Frontline operatives of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) observed that Altius suicide drones repeatedly crashed or missed their targets. These Altius drones experienced so many malfunctions and were so unreliable that the SBU stopped using them since 2024," a source stated.

This news comes as a surprise, given that Anduril Industries has become a prominent defense startup in the US. The company pledged to provide equipment and software to help the US military keep pace with global drone technology trends.

Leveraging the wave of investment in military technology, Anduril increased its company valuation to 30,5 billion USD, more than tripling its value from late 2022. The company secured numerous contracts with the US military to develop a range of prototype devices, from suicide drones to battlefield management systems.

The conflict in Ukraine marked the first operational deployment of Anduril's products, with the company sending hundreds of Altius aircraft to Kyiv.

Palmer Luckey, Anduril's founder, stated in March that Altius UAVs had "neutralized hundreds of millions of USD worth of Russian equipment." Months later, Luckey traveled to Taiwan to deliver the first batch of Altius UAVs to the island's defense forces. Taiwanese officials reported receiving a total of 131 Altius aircraft this year but declined to comment on their operational performance.

In addition to the Altius line, Anduril also appears to have transferred about 40 Ghost drones to Ukraine. These mini-helicopter-like devices are specialized for reconnaissance missions.

However, four sources familiar with the matter revealed that early versions of the Ghost struggled against Russian electronic warfare measures, disappointing Ukrainian soldiers. "Anduril seems to have misunderstood how terrain and jamming equipment impact UAV flight paths," a source noted.

The Ukrainian military declined to comment on the performance of Anduril-produced UAVs when asked, citing classified information.

Nevertheless, Western UAVs, including Anduril's equipment, currently have a limited impact in Ukraine. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister, disclosed late last year that the country's military deployed about one million drones of various types to the front lines in 2024, with 96% being domestically produced.

US soldiers prepare to deploy a Ghost X drone at Hohenfels, Germany in January. Photo: US Army

Anduril spokesperson Shannon Prior emphasized that "everyone encountered electronic warfare issues in the early stages of the conflict." She added that the company has worked closely with end-users to gather feedback and update software in real time to adapt to combat conditions.

Prior mentioned that an upgraded Ghost X version was sent to the front lines in Ukraine in December 2023, stating that this drone model had rectified previous issues.

Despite this, the Ghost X continued to experience incidents in recent tests. Reuters reported that during a multi-day US Army exercise in Hohenfels, Germany, in mid-January, a Ghost drone lost control and crashed near soldiers.

According to Anduril, the incident was caused by a propeller malfunction, which has since been resolved. Major Geoffrey Carmichael, a spokesperson for the US Army's 10th Mountain Division, the unit participating in the exercise, suggested that "malfunctions can occur" when testing new technologies.

Regarding the Ghost X line, Major Carmichael stated that the drone performed well at high altitudes and in cold and hot weather, but still required improvements, particularly in power management under extreme cold conditions.

Anduril claimed the US Army has "consistently praised" the reliability of the Ghost X.

However, the company's products continued to face problems during tests at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida in November, this time with the Altius line.

After being released from an aircraft for reconnaissance capability testing, an Altius UAV nosedived from an altitude of about 2,400 m and crashed into the ground. Another Altius also crashed in a separate test, according to a summary report by the US Air Force.

Spokesperson Prior described these as "isolated incidents" among hundreds of tests. "We are continuously validating new capabilities for our products, pushing them to their limits to learn, refine, and improve. Failure during testing is natural and intentional in this process," the Anduril representative said.

She highlighted that Altius UAVs have flown over 2,000 hours in tests, demonstrations, and real-world deployments, but did not provide detailed results.

"Incidents involving two Altius drones in US Air Force tests last month, as well as failures in the Ghost UAV program, highlight the disparity between the US company's claims and actual test and combat realities," Reuters reported.

This also reflects a common challenge for the US defense industry: adapting to the low-cost UAV sector, having previously focused solely on producing modern and expensive military equipment.

An Altius UAV flying at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, US in 2020. Photo: US Army

The US company recently signaled a potential openness regarding future test results. Founder Luckey asked his social media followers last month if they wanted the company to share more "behind-the-scenes" information.

Two days later, upon announcing its advanced reconnaissance UAV named Omen, Anduril posted a video of the product experiencing an incident during testing and crashing to the ground, while also listing lessons learned during its development.

"These incidents, and the lessons learned, are an essential and inevitable part of the development process," an Anduril representative stated.

Pham Giang (According to Reuters, WSJ)