The US Army successfully conducted a warfighting experiment on February 26, 2026, at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, where it launched an Anduril Industries Altius 700 drone from an AH-64E Apache attack helicopter. This marks the first time such an integration has occurred, moving from a formal US Army requirement to a demonstrated capability in under six months, despite a 43-day government shutdown during development.
The Altius 700 is a rocket-powered, tube-launched autonomous air vehicle with a reported range of up to 460 kilometers (approximately 250 nautical miles) and an endurance of roughly four hours, extendable to around five hours depending on configuration. This extends the Apache's combat range, which is approximately 260 nautical miles with an endurance of about 2.6 hours, allowing it to push sensors and effectors forward without exposing the manned aircraft to threats. The drone’s modular payload supports intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), signals intelligence (SIGINT), electronic warfare (EW), and communications relay missions. A kinetic variant, the Altius 700M, can carry a warhead payload of up to 33 pounds.
This demonstration is part of a broader effort by the US Army to keep the AH-64E Apache relevant past 2060, particularly in dense air defense environments. The Altius 700 has also served as the primary testbed for a new government-developed universal launch system for rotary-wing aircraft. This follows a September 2025 test where Altius 700s were launched from a UH-60 Black Hawk, and a $43 million contract issued to Sikorsky in late 2025 to upgrade the UH-60M fleet for air-launched drone integration. Competitors like L3 Harris's Red Wolf, which offers a 370 km range for USMC AH-1Z helicopters, are also in this field.
