Air Defense

Roadrunner-M

Also known as
  • Roadrunner-Munition
  • Roadrunner Munition
  • Anduril Roadrunner-M
  • Roadrunner interceptor

Roadrunner-M is Anduril's high-explosive, VTOL interceptor variant of the Roadrunner autonomous air vehicle, designed as a recoverable counter-UAS air-defense layer that can loiter for aerial threats, attack on operator command, or return for reuse when not expended.

Roadrunner-M, Recoverable counter-UAS interceptor, Air Defense
Image source: Anduril Roadrunner product page
Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
United States
Type
Recoverable counter-UAS interceptor
Service note
2020s-present
Designer
Anduril Industries
Designed
About 2021-2023 development period before December 2023 unveiling
Unit cost
Roadrunner air vehicle described publicly as costing in the low hundreds of thousands of dollars before scaled production
Produced
Low-rate initial production announced in 2023; FY2024 supplemental procurement and U.S. deliveries under a 2024 contract planned through 2025

Specifications

Mission
Recoverable ground-based air-defense interceptor for counter-UAS and other aerial threats
Launch and recovery
Vertical takeoff and landing from a self-contained launcher or nest; recoverable when not expended
Propulsion
Twin small turbojet engines
Speed class
High-subsonic flight
Maneuvering
High-G maneuvering publicly described, with exact figures undisclosed
Payload
High-explosive interceptor warhead on Roadrunner-M; modular payload architecture on the broader Roadrunner air vehicle
Operator model
Operator-supervised autonomy with onboard sensing and processing, and integration with external command-and-control or fire-control systems
Public data limit
Exact range, endurance, warhead size, top speed, and altitude figures are not publicly disclosed
Variants

Anduril presents Roadrunner as a modular reusable autonomous air vehicle family; Roadrunner-M is the munition/interceptor configuration.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
RoadrunnerReusable autonomous air vehicle

The baseline Roadrunner is a twin-turbojet VTOL autonomous air vehicle with modular payloads and high-subsonic performance.

Sources: Anduril Roadrunner product page, DefenseScoop Roadrunner unveiling

Electronic-Warfare Layer

Anduril's 2024 Department of Defense contract announcement presents Roadrunner-M and Pulsar as complementary air-defense capabilities.

Compatible itemItem typeCompatibility evidence
Pulsar, Software-defined electromagnetic-warfare system family, Electronic WarfarePulsarElectronic-warfare system family

The contract announcement says more than 500 Roadrunner-M systems and additional Pulsar electronic-warfare capabilities were ordered together for U.S. air-defense needs.

Sources: Anduril Roadrunner-M contract announcement

Relationship-Only Context

Public sources describe combat evaluation and U.S. procurement without naming a catalog conflict where Roadrunner-M was used. The supported context is therefore system architecture, procurement, and public evidence limits rather than named conflict employment.

Kinetic layer

Roadrunner-M is the high-explosive interceptor configuration in the Roadrunner autonomous air-vehicle family.

EW layer

The 2024 Department of Defense delivery package pairs more than 500 Roadrunner-M systems with additional Pulsar electronic-warfare capabilities.

SOCOM procurement

A June 2025 SOCOM budget book identifies FY2024 supplemental procurement of expeditionary fixed-site Roadrunner systems, Roadrunner all-up rounds, and ancillary equipment for counter-uncrewed-system missions.

Comparable interceptor

U.S. Navy reporting discussed Roadrunner-M alongside Coyote as a lower-cost loitering counter-drone layer, while publicly visible shipboard launchers were assessed as Coyote-like rather than Roadrunner nests.

Timeline

Roadrunner-M Key Events

  1. Roadrunner and Roadrunner-M unveiled

    Anduril publicly introduced Roadrunner as a reusable VTOL autonomous air vehicle and Roadrunner-M as the high-explosive interceptor variant.

    Sources: Anduril Roadrunner-M unveiling, DefenseScoop Roadrunner unveiling

  2. Operational combat evaluation reported

    Anduril later said Roadrunner had been operationally deployed for combat evaluation since January 2024, without publicly naming a conflict or service branch.

    Sources: Air & Space Forces Roadrunner-M contract, Anduril Roadrunner-M contract announcement

  3. U.S. Department of Defense production contract announced

    Anduril announced a $249,978,466 contract to deliver Roadrunner-M interceptors and Pulsar electronic-warfare systems across U.S. defense services.

    Sources: Anduril Roadrunner-M contract announcement, Defense News Roadrunner-M contract

  4. SOCOM budget book identifies Roadrunner procurement

    The FY2026 SOCOM procurement justification said FY2024 supplemental funding procured expeditionary fixed-site Roadrunner systems, Roadrunner all-up rounds, and ancillary equipment for counter-uncrewed-system missions.

    Sources: DoD FY2026 SOCOM procurement justification

  5. U.S. Navy shipboard counter-drone context reported

    TWZ reported that U.S. Navy destroyer counter-drone work included Coyote and Roadrunner-M interceptors as lower-cost loitering layers against uncrewed aerial threats, while noting that visible shipboard launchers in available photos resembled Coyote equipment rather than Roadrunner nests.

    Sources: TWZ Navy Coyote and Roadrunner-M destroyer report

Media

Roadrunner-M Videos

Roadrunner-M Images

Roadrunner-M, Recoverable counter-UAS interceptor, Air Defense - view 1
Source: Anduril Roadrunner product page
Roadrunner-M, Recoverable counter-UAS interceptor, Air Defense - view 2
Source: Anduril Roadrunner product page
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Sources

Anduril Roadrunner product pagePublisher: Anduril Industries | Note: Supports the Roadrunner family identity, reusable VTOL autonomous air vehicle description, twin turbojet propulsion, high-subsonic speed, modular payloads, AI-driven autonomy, and product image provenance. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Anduril Roadrunner-M unveilingPublisher: Anduril Industries | Note: Supports the December 2023 unveiling, Roadrunner-M designation, recoverable ground-based air-defense framing, and official Roadrunner-M image provenance. | Accessed: 2026-07-04DefenseScoop Roadrunner unveilingPublisher: DefenseScoop | Note: Supports the twin-jet VTOL description, Roadrunner-Munition name, high-explosive interceptor role, recoverability when not expended, development timing, low-rate production context, and undisclosed performance limits. | Accessed: 2026-07-04TWZ Roadrunner interceptor analysisPublisher: The War Zone | Note: Supports the autonomous reusable air-vehicle concept, nest launcher context, low-hundreds-of-thousands cost statement, Roadrunner-M low-rate production context, and comparison to Coyote as another jet-powered counter-UAS interceptor. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Anduril Roadrunner-M contract announcementPublisher: Anduril Industries | Note: Supports the October 2024 Department of Defense contract value, multi-service air-defense capability context, Roadrunner-M and Pulsar delivery package, operational combat-evaluation statement, and contract-announcement image provenance; it does not identify a specific conflict-use row. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Defense News Roadrunner-M contractPublisher: Defense News | Note: Supports the October 2024 Pentagon contract reporting, more than 500 Roadrunner rounds, planned deliveries through 2025, and U.S. priority-region drone-threat context without naming an exact conflict. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Air & Space Forces Roadrunner-M contractPublisher: Air & Space Forces Magazine | Note: Supports Roadrunner-M as a high-explosive counter-drone system, the more-than-500-system contract context, planned deliveries, recoverability when not detonated, and the January 2024 combat-evaluation statement without naming an exact conflict. | Accessed: 2026-07-04Designation-Systems Roadrunner profilePublisher: Designation-Systems.Net | Note: Supports the compact technical profile: approximately 1.5 m length, turbojet VTOL design, Roadrunner-M high-explosive surface-to-air loitering-interceptor role, return-to-base behavior, and the absence of public range or loiter-time data. | Accessed: 2026-07-04DoD FY2026 SOCOM procurement justificationPublisher: U.S. Department of Defense Comptroller | Note: Supports FY2024 supplemental procurement of expeditionary fixed-site Roadrunner systems, Roadrunner all-up rounds, and ancillary equipment for counter-uncrewed-system missions; the document uses Roadrunner naming and does not identify a conflict-use row. | Accessed: 2026-07-04TWZ Navy Coyote and Roadrunner-M destroyer reportPublisher: The War Zone | Note: Supports 2025 reporting that U.S. Navy destroyer counter-drone work included Coyote and Roadrunner-M interceptors as lower-cost loitering layers, and the caveat that visible launchers in available imagery resembled Coyote equipment rather than Roadrunner nests. | Accessed: 2026-07-04