UK downselects to four companies for Apache loyal wingman effort

The British Army aims to equip its AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter fleet with a dedicated ‘loyal wingman' by 2030. (Crown Copyright)

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded contracts to four companies to develop and build an unmanned ‘loyal wingman' for the British Army's Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopter.

The MoD announced on 15 May 2026 that Anduril Industries (UK) Ltd, BAE Systems Operations Ltd, Tekever Ltd, and Thales UK Ltd had been awarded a combined GBP10 million (USD13.4 million) to continue the UK's effort to develop a Land Autonomous Collaborative Platform (Land ACP) under Project Nyx.

“The four industry partners have been offered contracts, and chosen from a competitive field to develop the autonomous technology. Their proposals include a variety of uncrewed air systems, each offering innovative autonomy, payloads and sensors,” the MoD said. “The MoD is planning to work with the four partners over the coming months to assess each design, with the intention of taking up to two of the strongest contenders forward to the next phase.”

Formally launched in November 2025, Project Nyx aims to develop a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) platform capable of carrying payloads in excess of 200 kg that is designed to be a highly autonomous ‘commanded not controlled' platform able to perform multimission tasks in contested airspace.

The contract announcement comes some five months after seven companies were selected in January 2026 to take their designs forward, with this latest downselect seeing Leonardo, Lockheed Martin UK, and Syos removed from the effort. Up to two companies will be further downselected at the end of Q3 2026 to build prototype designs.

If these designs prove successful, initial operational capability aboard the British Army's 50 AH-64E helicopters is targeted for 2030.