Anduril Industries UK and GKN Aerospace are to collaborate in pursuit of an opportunity to produce an autonomous collaborative platform (ACP) demonstrator for the British Army.

Signed at GKN Aerospace’s Cowes site on the Isle of Wight on 9 December, the strategic teaming agreement relates to a requirement named NYX by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). That effort will seek to assess the potential of a platform capable of conducting duties such as “reconnaissance, target acquisition, strike, countermeasure defeat, and integration with launched effects”.

GKN Aerospace says it will “lead structural design and integration work, drawing on its world-class expertise in aerostructures, electrical wiring interconnection systems and aerospace engineering”.

Lead systems integrator Anduril states that the UK supplier will be its “airframe manufacturing partner for Project NYX and other future programmes.”

The collaboration “pairs the best of British innovation and manufacturing expertise with leading capabilities supported by global investment in enabling technologies”, it adds.

This, claims Anduril Industries UK managing director Rich Drake, makes it “best placed to enhance the lethality and survivability for our armed forces”.

“By combining GKN Aerospace’s advanced manufacturing and integration expertise with Anduril’s innovative defence technologies, we can offer an industry-leading solution for the UK in rapid time,” says Dave Bond, senior vice-president of defence technology at the UK company.

The USA’s Archer Aviation is also supporting Anduril’s pursuit of the UK requirement, “bringing the latest advancements in eVTOL [electric vertical take-off and landing] aircraft development and hybrid propulsion”. The developer of the Midnight platform, Archer recently signed a separate agreement with Anduril to supply the electric powertrain for the company’s in-development Omen uncrewed aerial vehicle.

Additional UK partners already supporting Anduril’s interest in the NYX requirement include Atom Performance Technologies, Flarebright, Isembard and Olsen Actuators, it says.

An image released alongside the new partnering announcement shows a model V-tail and aft fuselage-section structure for an ACP-like vehicle, with the logos of Anduril, Archer and GKN Aerospace.

According to a recent overview provided by the MoD, the NYX activity will involve up to four potential bidders, with the project due to be launched in early 2026.

It is scheduled to conclude in 2028, following flight testing including in combination with Boeing’s AH-64E attack helicopter. The activity has been allocated a budget of £100 million ($133 million).