Explainer

Anduril vs. the defense primes and other startups

Anduril markets itself as a different kind of defense company. Here is how it actually compares, in size, model and products.

How Anduril's model differs from the traditional primes

	Anduril	Traditional primes
Funding model	Spends its own money on R&D and pitches finished products	Typically paid by the government to develop a system to a requirement (cost-plus)
Product cycle	Months to a few years from concept to prototype	Often a decade or more for major platforms
Software	One shared platform (Lattice) across all products	Often bespoke per program
Pricing pitch	Cheaper, attritable systems in large numbers	Exquisite, highly capable systems in smaller numbers
Scale today	About $2.2B revenue (2025, company-stated)	$20B-$80B+ revenue each
Ownership	Private, venture-backed	Public companies

Company	2024 revenue	Known for	Overlap with Anduril
Lockheed Martin	$71.0B	F-35, missiles (PAC-3, JASSM), space	Missiles and air defense; lost the CCA Increment 1 competition that Anduril won a place in.
RTX (Raytheon)	$80.7B	Patriot, Standard Missile, AMRAAM, engines (Pratt & Whitney)	Interceptors and missiles. Also a partner: the two tested a rocket motor together in 2025.
Northrop Grumman	$41.0B	B-21 bomber, solid rocket motors, IBCS air-defense C2	Solid rocket motors and battle-management software.
General Dynamics	$47.7B	Submarines, armored vehicles, IT services	Undersea vehicles and land systems; GD Land Systems partners with Anduril on vehicle defense.
Boeing Defense	$23.9B (defense segment)	Fighters, tankers, MQ-28 Ghost Bat (Australia)	Uncrewed combat aircraft. Partner on an Army midrange interceptor bid (IFPC Inc 2).

Revenue from each company's 2024 annual report (Boeing: Defense, Space & Security segment). Anduril's 2025 revenue was about $2.2B, company-stated.

Company	Focus	Relationship to Anduril
Shield AI	Hivemind autonomy software and V-BAT drones	Competitor and partner: its software flew on Anduril's YFQ-44A.
Palantir	Data and AI software (Foundry, Gotham, Maven Smart System)	Frequent partner (NGC2, TITAN, consortium) and sometime competitor. Public company.
Skydio	Small autonomous quadcopters for military and public safety	Overlaps with Ghost and Bolt in small drones.
Helsing	European defense AI, strike drones and an uncrewed combat aircraft	Often called 'Europe's Anduril'; competes for European budgets.
Saronic	Autonomous surface vessels and shipbuilding	Competes in maritime autonomy, especially surface drones.
Epirus	High-power microwave counter-drone systems (Leonidas)	Integrated with Lattice in 2023; also a counter-drone competitor.
Mach Industries	Low-cost strike weapons and drones	Competitor in mass-producible munitions; both won Army development contracts in 2026.
Rebellion Defense	Defense software	Software competitor in C2 and data.

	Roadrunner-M	Traditional surface-to-air interceptor
Reusable if not expended	Yes, can land and be relaunched	No, single use
Propulsion	Twin turbojets	Solid rocket motor
Intended targets	Drones, cruise missiles, aircraft at shorter ranges	Aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles (varies by system)
Cost pitch	Low enough to use against cheap drones	Often far more expensive than the drones they shoot down

Range, speed and price figures for Roadrunner are not fully public, so this compares design intent rather than performance.

	Anduril FQ-44 Fury	General Atomics FQ-42	Boeing MQ-28 Ghost Bat
Customer	U.S. Air Force (CCA Inc 1)	U.S. Air Force (CCA Inc 1)	Royal Australian Air Force
Production status	Production contract June 2026	Production contract June 2026	Production for Australia
Lineage	Blue Force Technologies Fury	Derived from GA's Gambit family	Boeing Australia

Detailed performance specifications are not public.

	Anduril Lattice	Palantir (Gotham / Foundry / Maven)
Origin	Real-time sensor fusion and control of autonomous hardware	Data integration and intelligence analysis
Where it runs	Edge devices, towers, vehicles, plus cloud	Mainly enterprise and cloud, expanding to the edge (often on Anduril Menace hardware)
Typical user	Operators managing sensors and drones	Analysts and staff planners
Relationship	Partners on NGC2 and TITAN; overlap in battle management

	Anduril Sentry	Conventional camera/radar tower
Detection	On-tower AI classifies people, vehicles and boats	Operators watch video or radar returns
Power	Often solar, relocatable	Typically grid power, fixed
Staffing	Alerts reduce screen-watching	Needs continuous monitoring
Concerns	Persistent automated surveillance; data handling	Coverage gaps; staffing cost