Defense tech glossary

The acronyms and terms you'll meet reading about Anduril, explained without jargon.

Arsenal-1

Anduril's large factory near Columbus, Ohio. Announced in January 2025, it built its first YFQ-44A in 2026.

Autonomy

A machine's ability to perform tasks without step-by-step human control: flying a route, avoiding obstacles, tracking a target. Autonomy in navigation is common; autonomy in decisions to use force is the contested part.

Blue UAS

Pentagon list of drones vetted for security (for example, no Chinese components) and cleared for U.S. military purchase. Ghost is on it.

C2 (Command and control)

How commanders direct forces: seeing what is happening, deciding, and passing orders. Lattice for C2 is Anduril's software for this.

C4ISR (Command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance)

Umbrella term for the networks, sensors and computing that give forces awareness and let them coordinate. C5ISR adds 'cyber'.

CCA (Collaborative Combat Aircraft)

U.S. Air Force program to buy relatively affordable autonomous jets that fly alongside crewed fighters. Anduril's FQ-44 (Fury) and General Atomics' FQ-42 were picked for Increment 1 production in 2026.

Counter-UAS (Counter-unmanned aircraft systems (also C-UAS, CUAS))

Ways to detect and defeat hostile drones: radars and cameras to find them, jammers to cut their links, and interceptors or guns to destroy them. Anduril's family includes Sentry, Wisp, Spyglass, Spark, Pulsar, Anvil and Roadrunner.

DPA Title III (Defense Production Act Title III)

Federal funding to expand domestic production of critical defense items. Anduril has received it for solid rocket motors.

eAirC2 (Enhanced Air Command and Control)

NATO initiative to modernize alliance air C2 data. Lattice is one of three platforms in its evaluation phase.

Edge compute

Processing data close to where it is collected (on a drone, tower or vehicle) instead of in a distant data center. It saves bandwidth and works when connections are cut.

EW (Electronic warfare (also EMW, electromagnetic warfare))

Using the radio spectrum to sense, jam or deceive enemy systems, and protecting your own. Pulsar is Anduril's EW family.

Golden Dome (Golden Dome for America)

U.S. missile-defense initiative launched in 2025 that includes space-based interceptors. Anduril is on a team working on the Space Force's space-based interceptor effort.

Group 1-5 UAS

Pentagon size classes for drones, from Group 1 (small hand-launched, under 20 lb) to Group 5 (large, over 1,320 lb, such as CCAs and Thunder).

Human in the loop

A human must approve each use of force. 'On the loop' means a human supervises and can intervene. U.S. policy (DoD Directive 3000.09) requires 'appropriate levels of human judgment' rather than a specific loop.

ISR (Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance)

Collecting information about an area or adversary. Many Anduril drones and towers are ISR systems first.

JADC2 (Joint All-Domain Command and Control)

The Pentagon's effort to connect sensors and shooters across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Space Force into one network. NGC2 and CDAO's data mesh work are pieces of it.

Loitering munition

A drone that carries an explosive and can circle an area before an operator chooses a target and commits it to an attack. Altius-600M/700M and Bolt-M are examples.

Mesh network

A network where devices relay data for each other rather than all connecting to a central hub, so it keeps working if some links fail. Lattice Mesh is Anduril's version.

NGC2 (Next Generation Command and Control)

U.S. Army program to replace a patchwork of legacy C2 systems with a common data layer and apps. Anduril leads the team (with Palantir and others) that prototyped it with the 4th Infantry Division.

OTA (Other Transaction Authority)

A flexible contracting tool that lets the Pentagon fund prototypes faster than traditional contracts. Many Anduril awards began as OTAs; they often don't appear in standard contract databases.

Prime contractor

The company that holds a contract directly with the government and manages subcontractors. The traditional 'primes' are Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and Boeing.

Program of record

A program with its own line in the defense budget and a formal acquisition plan. Becoming one is the step that turns a prototype into a long-term business.

Sensor fusion

Combining data from many sensors (radar, cameras, radio receivers) into one more accurate picture, so the same object seen by three sensors shows up as one track.

Solid rocket motor (SRM)

The propulsion stage of most missiles. U.S. supply was concentrated in two firms; Anduril calls itself the third major supplier.

WOSA (Weapon Open Systems Architecture)

Air Force standard meant to let weapons and aircraft components from different vendors work together. Barracuda-M was certified WOSA-compliant in 2026.

XL-AUV (Extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle)

A submarine-sized uncrewed vessel for long missions. Anduril's Dive-XL and Australia's Ghost Shark are XL-AUVs.