A U.S. military plane soared over Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base earlier this month and released a drone made by the defense tech giant Anduril Industries to test whether it could take flight and conduct surveillance. The drone – a winged model known as Altius – nosedived 8,000 feet into the ground, according to an Air Force test summary, reported here for the first time. Shortly afterwards, a second Altius drone spiraled to earth during a separate test, the summary said. Anduril has become one of Silicon Valley’s hottest defense bets as drones reshape warfare in Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump pushes the Pentagon to adopt cutting-edge technologies to counter China. The company has ridden a surge of investment into military tech that has helped its valuation more than triple since late 2022 to $30.5 billion. Anduril has described its Altius drone, which can be used for surveillance and carry munitions, as battle-ready and says it has sent hundreds to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion started in 2022.

Full exclusive : Sources detail how Anduril’s fast-moving approach with its defense tech led to setbacks.