The Copperhead household of Autonomous Underwater Automobiles (AUV) might be geared up with ISR, communications and acoustic payloads for off-board sensing or warheads for kinetic makes use of.
Anduril launched on Apr. 25, 2026, the primary public footage of its Copperhead-500M underwater weapon, a part of the Copperhead sequence of Autonomous Underwater Automobiles (AUV), in a brief 16-second clip. The video reveals the weapon touring slightly below the floor of the water, throughout a take a look at that supposedly befell not too long ago.
“First public footage of Copperhead-500M swimming,” the corporate stated within the put up. “In the course of the take a look at, the 21-inch heavyweight AUV efficiently broke inside velocity data whereas demonstrating excessive agility maneuvers in excessive seas.”
The corporate didn’t reveal when and the place the take a look at befell. The Copperhead 100 and 500 are the 2 principal merchandise on this household of naval weapons, with variants for each kinetic and non-kinetic missions.
For those who see Copperhead coming,it’s already too late.
Proven: First public footage of Copperhead-500M swimming. In the course of the take a look at, the 21-inch heavyweight AUV efficiently broke inside velocity data whereas demonstrating excessive agility maneuvers in excessive seas. pic.twitter.com/oCgvkQ5FIP
— Anduril Industries (@anduriltech) April 24, 2026
Because the product web page on the corporate’s web site reveals, the ‘M’ designation and a yellow band across the faceted physique point out a torpedo type-like car. The automobiles with out these markers are as an alternative sub-surface sensing AUVs.
The video doesn’t present the Copperhead-500M hitting a goal, though a blue band signifies that it was an inert AUV with out explosives. Additionally, the video doesn’t present any management room or operator’s console working the system.
Anduril’s underwater techniques
The corporate had unveiled the Copperhead household a yr in the past in early April, stressing on their mass-producibility and skill to be launched by different floor, aerial and the corporate’s personal bigger undersea platforms, just like the Ghost Shark Further-Massive Unmanned Underwater Automobile (XLUUV), the Dive-LD and Dive-XL. Anduril additionally identified that the automobiles have civilian and humanitarian purposes.
The maritime automobiles add to Anduril’s numerous portfolio of modular and scalable techniques just like the YFQ-44A Fury Collaborative Fight Plane (CCA), the Barracuda household of autonomous air automobiles, the Roadrunner reusable anti-air interceptor drone, and the Ghost Shark Further-Massive Unmanned Underwater Automobile (XLUUV).
Australia introduced in September 2025 a $1.12 billion deal for a fleet of Ghost Shark XLUUVs which, in response to Protection Minister Richard Marles, can be manufactured inside the nation. The corporate additionally introduced on Mar. 12, 2026, that it had been chosen by the Protection Innovation Unit (DIU) to take part within the Fight Autonomous Marine Platform Mission (CAMP).
“Anduril will full a long-duration, operationally consultant demonstration of Dive-XL inside 4 months of contract award,” stated the corporate. The Dive-XL had efficiently carried out in Australia as properly, previous to Sydney’s collection of the Ghost Shark.
Anduril has secured a A$1.7B (US$1.2B) contract to ship a fleet of Ghost Shark XL-AUVs to the @Australian_Navy.
That is our first worldwide Program of Document. Manufacturing is already underway. pic.twitter.com/VZDnU9TyxR
— Anduril Industries (@anduriltech) September 10, 2025
Copperhead household of sensing and strike AUVs
The Copperhead-100M is a light-weight torpedo with 12.75-inch diameter and 9 ft lengthy, whereas the bigger Copperhead-500M is a 21-inch thick and a little bit over 13 feet-long heavyweight torpedo. The Copperhead-100 and 500 are basic ISR AUVs that may carry swappable payloads for prolonged communications, a magnetometer and side-scan sonar for anti-submarine warfare and chemical detection gadgets.
All Copperheads have a most velocity of 30 knots. Roughly, the Copperhead-500 might be thought-about to be broadly equal to a Mk 48 heavyweight torpedo, whereas the Copperhead-100 is roughly in the identical class as a Mk 54 light-weight torpedo.
Anduril stated in an Apr. 7, 2025, launch: “With the Dive-LD and Dive-XL, Copperhead permits a complete, clever maritime functionality that enables operators to rapidly reply to threats within the undersea battlespace, at a fraction of the price of legacy choices.”
Extra firepower.
The U.S. & its allies want scalable, autonomous subsea weapons that may be quickly deployed to satisfy the calls for of recent naval operations.
Meet Copperhead. Anduril’s high-speed, software-defined household of AUVs. pic.twitter.com/uxRMHOlXIH
— Anduril Industries (@anduriltech) April 7, 2025
The corporate referred to as the Copperhead-M a “munition variant” for autonomous automobiles with “reasonably priced and mass-producible torpedo-like capabilities.” “Copperhead-M enhances naval operations by permitting commanders to make use of autonomous automobiles for high-risk missions, participating maritime threats extra exactly and successfully whereas defending extra precious belongings and personnel,” stated the corporate.
For instance, Anduril’s Dive-XL can carry dozens of Copperhead-100Ms or a number of Copperhead-500Ms, “delivering underwater firepower on demand to disable or destroy maritime threats.” The 2 can be repurposed for “rapid-response industrial missions” like “search and rescue, crucial infrastructure inspection, and environmental monitoring.”
Future
The Copperhead techniques are removed from being examined by the U.S. Navy’s present floor combatants or its main maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare platform, the P-8A Poseidon. All these platforms are nevertheless anticipated to work with Anduril’s Seabed Sentry Undersea Sensor Community, which the corporate had unveiled simply days earlier than revealing the Copperheads.
The U.S. Navy’s Orca XLUUV developed by Boeing, the primary of which was delivered to the service in December 2023, had been delayed by three years and was $242 million over price range, a 2022 Authorities Accountability Workplace (GAO) report stated. The Protection Superior Analysis Tasks Company (DARPA) can be testing Northrop Grumman’s extra-large glider Manta Ray UUV, “that can function long-duration, long-range and payload-capable undersea missions with out want for on-site human logistics.”
