Anduril Altius Drones Crash Twice During Air Force Tests, Ghost Drones Fail Against Russian Jamming

We’ve been tracking Anduril’s meteoric rise for years, from Palmer Luckey’s $1.5 billion funding round to their Fury drone debut at the Paris Air Show. But a devastating Reuters investigation published this week reveals what happens when Silicon Valley hype meets battlefield reality: drones crashing into the ground and failing against Russian electronic warfare.

Two Anduril Altius drones nosedived during Air Force tests at Eglin Air Force Base earlier this month, according to an Air Force test summary obtained by Reuters. The first drone plummeted 2,438 meters (8,000 feet) into the ground. Shortly afterward, a second Altius spiraled to earth during a separate test.

Here’s the kicker: On the same day those drones crashed, the Pentagon announced a $50 million contract to buy more of them.

The $30.5 Billion Reality Check

Anduril has become one of Silicon Valley’s hottest defense investments. The company’s valuation has more than tripled since late 2022 to $30.5 billion, fueled by the Pentagon’s push for cutting-edge autonomous systems to counter China.

Founder Palmer Luckey, the 33-year-old Oculus VR creator turned defense entrepreneur, claimed in March that Altius drones have “taken out hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Russian targets.” In August, he personally delivered the company’s first batch to Taiwan, where 131 Altius drones now serve.

But Reuters interviewed more than a dozen people, including former Anduril staff, military officials, and operators working with drones on the Ukrainian battlefield. Their accounts paint a different picture from Anduril’s confident marketing.

Ghost Drones: The Ukraine Disaster

The problems started early in the Ukraine conflict. Anduril sent approximately 40 Ghost reconnaissance drones to Ukrainian forces in 2022. The miniature helicopter-style drones were supposed to provide tactical surveillance.

Instead, they frustrated Ukrainian soldiers.

“Everyone was having problems” with Russian electronic warfare jamming, acknowledged Shannon Prior, Anduril spokesperson. But four sources told Reuters the company fundamentally misunderstood how terrain and Russia’s GPS jamming would affect their drones.

The updated Ghost X, delivered to Ukraine in December 2023, was supposed to fix those issues. But problems persisted. A video shared with Reuters and posted on US ArmyWTF (an Instagram account run by an Army veteran) shows a Ghost model spinning out of control before crash-landing near soldiers during a U.S. Army exercise in Hohenfels, Germany in January 2025.

“I told you this would be a clusterfuck,” said an unidentified person in the video.

Anduril blamed a rotor malfunction and said it was fixed. But Major Geoffrey Carmichael from the Army’s 10th Mountain Division noted the Ghost X still needs improvements in “power management in extreme cold.”

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Western Drones Aren’t Winning Ukraine

Here’s the statistic that should concern every Blue UAS advocate: Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov reported in November 2024 that of the one million drones deployed to frontlines that year, 96% were Ukrainian-made.

Western drone makers, including Anduril, have had limited battlefield impact despite massive investment and political backing.

Anduril initially sent about 100 Altius drones to Ukraine in 2023. The UK announced a £30 million ($40 million) contract in March 2025 to send more Altius drones to Ukraine’s Navy for Black Sea operations. Britain’s Defense Ministry says the Ukrainian Navy has “expressed their satisfaction” with them, though Ukraine’s Armed Forces declined to comment, citing state secrets.

The Pentagon’s Response: Buy More

Despite these setbacks, the money keeps flowing.

The $50 million contract announced on the same day as the crashes covers “testing, training and supportability” for Altius drones. Air Force Special Operations Command confirmed the test demonstration occurred but declined to comment further.

Anduril is also investing $900 million to build a massive drone manufacturing facility in Pickaway County, Ohio, near Rickenbacker International Airport. The company estimates the facility will span 5 million square feet and employ over 4,000 people by 2035.

Shannon Prior, Anduril’s spokesperson, called the Reuters-documented incidents “isolated examples” across hundreds of tests. She added that the Altius has logged “more than 2,000 hours” in tests and deployments, though she didn’t provide success rate details.

After Reuters contacted Anduril for comment, the company published a blog post acknowledging testing failures across Altius, Ghost, and their Lattice command software. “Those failures, and the learning they afford, are an essential and unavoidable part of the development process,” the company stated.

DroneXL’s Take

I’ve been covering Anduril since their early days. We reported on their UK drone deal to Ukraine in March, their $200 million UAE joint venture just two weeks ago, and their YFQ-44A autonomous fighter drone’s first flight last month.

Anduril is doing genuinely innovative work. Test failures are part of drone development. Every manufacturer, including DJI, has experienced crashes during testing phases.

But here’s where the hypocrisy becomes unbearable.

While Anduril drones crash during Air Force tests and struggle against Russian jamming, the U.S. government is preparing to ban DJI by default on December 23, 2025, without conducting the security audit Congress mandated. Florida already destroyed $200 million worth of working DJI drones and provided only $25 million to replace them with Blue UAS alternatives that cost 8-14 times more and meet only 20% of mission requirements.

Skydio, the other Blue UAS darling, has had its own problems. Their X10 crashed and caught fire on an NYPD precinct roof in May. Industry experts have slammed their lobbying tactics.

This isn’t about whether American drones are good or bad. It’s about the double standard.

When a DJI drone works perfectly for years, politicians call it a national security threat based on theoretical data exfiltration that has never been proven. When an Anduril drone nosedives 8,000 feet during an Air Force demonstration, the Pentagon writes a $50 million check the same day.

The irony is thicker than Ukrainian mud: 96% of the drones actually winning the war against Russia are made in Ukraine, not by Silicon Valley unicorns or Chinese manufacturers.

Maybe it’s time to evaluate drone companies based on whether their products work, not on which lobbyists they employ.

What do you think? Does this change how you view the DJI ban debate? Share your thoughts in the comments below.