Barracuda
A family of low-cost cruise missiles designed to be built quickly and in large numbers.
What does it actually do?
Barracuda is a family of jet-powered autonomous air vehicles (in practice, small cruise missiles) built with fewer, simpler parts so they can be produced fast and cheaply. Versions can be launched from aircraft, from the ground, or from ships. The M variants are the munition versions.
Technical detail
- Air-breathing (jet) propulsion; variants include Barracuda-100, Barracuda-500 and Barracuda-M.
- Designed for 'hyper-scale' manufacturing with reduced tooling and parts count.
- Certified compliant with the Air Force's Weapon Open Systems Architecture (WOSA) in 2026.
Status
TestingContract awardedIn production
Production agreement for surface-launched Barracuda-500M (May 2026); framework agreement for an air-launched version (July 2026); licensed production planned in Poland.
Known users
- U.S. Department of War
- U.S. Army (High Speed Maneuverable Missile testing)
- PGZ, Poland (production partner)
Milestones
- Barracuda becomes the first WOSA-compliant weapon in large-scale production (company claim; AFRL certified compliance). Source
- Framework agreement for air-launched Barracuda-500. Source
- PGZ and Anduril to produce surface-launched Barracuda-500M in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Source
- Production agreement for surface-launched Barracuda-500M. Source
- Partnership with Rheinmetall to build Barracuda and Fury for European customers. Source
- Barracuda-500 selected for the Enterprise Test Vehicle prototype project. Source
- Anduril unveils the Barracuda family. Source