Bolt-M

Bolt-M overview

The Bolt-M is Anduril Industries' man-portable loitering munition, representing the company's entry into the close-combat precision strike market that the Switchblade 300 and Kamikaze drone family pioneered. Designed to be carried by a single Marine or soldier and assembled in minutes, the Bolt-M uses Anduril's Lattice AI software stack for autonomous target detection, tracking, and terminal guidance — allowing it to engage moving vehicles, crew-served weapons, and personnel with precision that minimally-trained operators cannot achieve through manual FPV control alone. Its compact form factor conceals a substantial warhead effective against a wide range of battlefield targets.

The Bolt-M is specifically engineered to operate as the strike element of a two-platform autonomous team alongside the Ghost-X reconnaissance quadcopter. In this pairing, Ghost-X autonomously finds and classifies targets using its sensor array, then shares target coordinates and tracking data with one or more Bolt-M units. A human operator authorizes the engagement, and Bolt-M executes the terminal attack autonomously — achieving a human-on-the-loop kill chain that keeps a person in the decision process while dramatically reducing the cognitive burden of simultaneous observation and attack. This teaming concept has been validated in multiple USMC and Army exercises.

A production contract for more than 600 Bolt-M units was awarded to Anduril by the U.S. Marine Corps in early 2026, marking one of the first large-scale U.S. military purchases of a fully autonomous loitering munition system designed for the close-combat role. The contract reflected the Marine Corps' assessment that cheap, autonomous precision strike from small units can substitute for the fire support previously provided by artillery and close air support in many tactical scenarios — and do so at a fraction of the cost per engagement. Anduril has also briefed the system to Army and Special Operations Command evaluators, and international allied interest was reported through 2026.

Armament

Integrated shaped-charge warhead; autonomous terminal guidance

Development and operational timeline

1. Jun 2022Anduril begins development of Bolt-M as autonomous loitering munition paired with Ghost-X quadcopter
2. Apr 2023Bolt-M prototype testing begins; autonomous terminal guidance and target classification validated
3. Oct 2023First Bolt-M / Ghost-X autonomous teaming demonstration conducted at Yuma Proving Ground
4. Mar 2024USMC evaluation contract awarded; Bolt-M assessed against Switchblade 300 and other systems
5. Sep 2024Bolt-M completes adverse weather and GPS-denied environment testing; Lattice AI guidance validated without satellite navigation
6. Feb 2025USMC selects Bolt-M for close-combat loitering munition requirement; development contract extended
7. Jul 2025Bolt-M demonstrated to Army and SOCOM evaluators; multi-service interest confirmed
8. Nov 2025Final design review completed; Bolt-M configuration locked for production
9. Feb 2026USMC production contract awarded for 600+ Bolt-M units; Anduril ramps manufacturing at Texas facility
10. Jun 2026First production Bolt-M units delivered to USMC; initial operational capability declared with 1st Marine Division