U.S. Army officials are exploring rapid deployment approaches for a “launched effects” prototype based around the Air-Launched, Tube-Integrated Unmanned System 700, or Altius 700, design by Area-I, an Anduril company, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.
The service branch expects to make a rapid fielding decision in 2025 to finalize the deployment of such launched effect capabilities after years of working on a prototype.
The announcement comes after the Army launched a prototype based around Altius 700 from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that served as a “significant risk reduction event” for the air vehicle’s future test flights.
According to the Army, the recently concluded two-flight demonstration validated Altius 700’s launch, flight, landing and recovery capabilities.
The Army plans to conduct the first test flight of the fully integrated launched effects prototype in early 2024 and conclude the final operational demonstration in fiscal year 2024.
