"Project NYX is delivery of that work in action, capitalising on the power of drones, AI and autonomy to complement the ‘heavy metal’ of tanks and artillery,” the Ministry of Defence said recently.
Ministry of Defence frames Project NYX as a pivot toward a "new way of war"
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence has cast Project NYX as a concrete step in what it described as a pivot to greater use of uncrewed and autonomous capabilities, language drawn from last year’s strategic defence review. The MoD said the effort will capitalise on “the power of drones, AI and autonomy” to augment traditional force elements — an explicit aim to add combat mass through uncrewed systems.
Four firms win place on demonstrator: BAE Systems, Anduril UK, Tekever and Thales
The MoD announced that Britain’s BAE Systems, the British arm of U.S.-based Anduril, Portugal’s Tekever and French manufacturer Thales have been down‑selected to develop drone wingmen to team with British Army Apache attack helicopters. The package for the concept demonstrator phase carries funding of £10 million ($13.4 million).
The down‑select reduces the field from seven competitors picked in January. The MoD said all submitted drone designs will be evaluated and narrowed to at most two competitors over the next few months for a prototype design phase, “before a final partner is chosen later this year.” If prototype designs prove successful, the MoD added, “the aim is to field an operational variant for use by 2030.”
Design goals: loyal wingmen for reconnaissance, strike, target acquisition and electronic warfare
The surviving designs, the MoD said, “include a variety of uncrewed air systems, each offering innovative autonomy, payloads and sensors.” The intended role set for the so‑called loyal wingmen or adjunct aircraft is broad: to fly alongside Apaches on missions that include reconnaissance, precision strike, target acquisition and electronic warfare.
That list of mission types positions Project NYX explicitly as a multi‑role effort: the platforms are not being conceived as single‑function munitions but as collaborative assets capable of sensing, processing and acting in support of crewed attack helicopters.
Company statements and known technical directions
The four down‑selected companies supplied brief statements or were referenced by the MoD on specific technical or programmatic approaches. BAE Systems’ Air division said in a post on X that it is partnering with local supplier Certo Aerospace “to meet the British Army’s requirement for an uncrewed partner for its Apache attack helicopter.” Certo’s coaxial CAPSTONE drone is being pitched.
Anduril UK’s managing director, Richard Drake, said the company has “invested tens of millions of pounds of our own money to develop a new capability that we will deliver for NYX.” Drake added that Anduril UK has already completed test flights of a full‑scale surrogate vehicle, “consistently expanding the flight envelope each time.” The company has not revealed the name of the drone design; a spokesperson for the company’s PR agency told Breaking Defense the name will be revealed in “due course.”
Thales, in a February statement cited by the MoD, said it is “well positioned to support” Project NYX, drawing on “decades of experience in trusted autonomous systems, collaborative mission management, and the delivery of complex defence solutions.” Tekever said it will “rapidly develop, test, and demonstrate a UK‑sovereign advanced rotary platform paired with AI‑enabled mission autonomy and sensing” as part of the new assessment phase.
What this means for the British Army, procurement officials, and the selected companies
- British Army: The Army stands to gain adjunct aircraft designed to operate alongside existing Apache helicopters for reconnaissance, precision strike, target acquisition and electronic warfare — capabilities the MoD has explicitly tied to the force’s future operational posture.
- Procurement officials: The MoD’s staged down‑select — from seven to four now, then to at most two for prototypes, and a final partner later this year — establishes a compressed decision timeline tied to prototype assessment and a target of fielding an operational variant by 2030.
- Selected companies: The four vendors must convert concept work into demonstrator prototypes. Anduril UK has already performed full‑scale surrogate flights and cites large internal investment; BAE and Certo are promoting a coaxial CAPSTONE design; Tekever is emphasising a UK‑sovereign rotary platform with AI‑enabled autonomy; Thales points to its prior autonomous‑systems experience.
Project NYX is now moving from concept to competitive development and testing. The MoD’s schedule — iterative down‑selects over the next few months, a prototype design phase, and “a final partner” decision later this year with a fielding aim of 2030 — sets clear technical and programmatic checkpoints. Which platforms survive those checkpoints will determine whether the UK’s stated pivot toward uncrewed and autonomous combat mass is matched by deployable, integrated systems for the Apache fleet.
