US Defence Firm Anduril Expands UK Operations Amid Military Contracts Bid

Anduril Industries UK, a U.S. defence‑technology company linked to the Trump family, has rapidly expanded its presence in Britain after securing a series of contracts that could bring it close to a £200 million deal. The company’s growth has raised questions about the UK’s procurement process and the influence of foreign investors in the armed forces.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced in March 2024 that a £30 million “drones for Ukraine” contract would be supplied by “Anglo‑American” Anduril Industries UK. At the time of the announcement the UK‑based arm had only about 40 employees and the company was “reluctant to commit to investment in the UK without MoD contracts,” according to a briefing note that openDemocracy obtained. The note also said that any future investment would require co‑investment from the government.

Over the past year Anduril’s UK office has grown to more than 150 staff, including at least 50 former defence personnel. The company hired former head of the UK Space Command, Major General Paul Tedman CBE, and a number of ex‑Army and MoD officials with experience of the Apache helicopter programme and procurement processes. In addition to the Ukraine drones, Anduril supplies software and autonomous sentry towers to the UK Border Force and has supplied Lattice command‑and‑control software for the MoD’s Project ASGARD, part of the £1 billion Digital Targeting Web programme.

Anduril was one of four British‑based partners selected in May to prototype a “wingman” drone that would fly alongside the Army’s Apache helicopters. Each partner received £2.5 million of taxpayer money to develop its proposal; the winner will be awarded a contract worth up to £200 million and will deliver up to 24 autonomous drones by 2030 under the Defence Investment Plan (DIP). The DIP, announced by the outgoing Labour government in June 2025, commits £15 billion to the armed forces over four years and includes a £5 billion autonomous‑tech fund.

The company’s expansion has been financed in part by government co‑investment. A briefing note prepared for ministers in May 2025 said that Anduril was in the final stages of selecting a site for a UK manufacturing facility, a move that would be contingent on guaranteed government contracts and a co‑investment package. The MoD has said it is working closely with industry, including Anduril UK, on Project NYX – the codename for the wingman programme – but declined to comment on commercial terms or co‑investment arrangements.

Anduril’s U.S. parent was founded in California in 2017 by Palmer Luckey, a prominent technology entrepreneur who has publicly supported Donald Trump. The company has investors including Donald Trump Jr. through the “anti‑woke” investment firm 1789 Capital, and was backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, a long‑time Trump donor who also founded Palantir Technologies. Anduril has become a major U.S. defence contractor, supplying drones, border‑control towers and software to the Pentagon and other agencies.

Critics argue that U.S. firms backed by the Trump family are poised to profit from the UK’s increased defence spending, especially as the U.K. seeks to “double the lethality” of its armed forces through AI and autonomous systems. Khem Rogaly, co‑director of the Transition Security Project, has said that the United Kingdom has “opened its arms to companies peddling autonomous weapons and supposedly cutting‑edge military technologies,” and that these firms and their investors are capitalising on new defence budgets.

The MoD spokesperson said: “We are working closely with industry, including Anduril UK, to develop Project NYX. This work is being carried out by teams based in the UK, in partnership with companies from across the UK’s defence industrial base. As this is part of an ongoing procurement process, we cannot comment on commercial terms, co‑investment arrangements, or the relationship between industry proposals and the wider process.”

The rapid growth of Anduril in Britain reflects a broader trend in which venture‑capital‑backed defence technology firms are increasingly involved in UK procurement. Whether this trend will lead to greater innovation or raise concerns about foreign influence remains to be seen.