Company Context

Anduril Industries is evaluating whether to continue investing in a next-generation autonomy stack for Lattice that enables more reliable multi-sensor detection, tracking, and autonomous tasking in contested environments with degraded GPS, intermittent comms, and higher electronic warfare pressure. The effort has been underway for 24 months and is strategically important because it could improve performance across multiple Anduril systems including Sentry Tower, Ghost, and Roadrunner, but it has not yet translated into meaningful program wins or material revenue. You are an Engineering Manager asked to prepare a recommendation for the executive team on whether to continue, narrow, or stop the investment.

Strategic Situation

The decision is urgent because the FY planning cycle closes in 6 weeks, and Anduril must decide whether to allocate another $45M over the next 18 months to this technical direction or redirect those resources toward near-term customer-funded capabilities. The core question is not purely technical; it is whether the technical direction is strategically justified given market demand, competitive positioning, timing, and portfolio economics.

Data Points

Additional facts:

• 3 active customer pilots are underway: 1 border security, 1 base protection, 1 expeditionary ISR.
• Pilot results show 22% improvement in detection persistence and 35% reduction in operator interventions, but reliability in high-EW conditions remains below target.
• Two competitors have announced similar autonomy roadmaps; one incumbent primes its solution at a 15-20% lower price point but with weaker software integration.
• Sales estimates that without a stronger autonomy story, Anduril could be excluded from $250M of relevant bids over the next 24 months.

Deliverables

1. Assess whether this technical direction should be continued, narrowed, partnered, or stopped.
2. Size the strategic upside and downside, including realistic revenue scenarios and portfolio effects.
3. Evaluate competitive dynamics and whether this capability creates a durable advantage for Anduril.
4. Recommend a go-to-market and investment approach for the next 12-18 months.
5. Define the milestones that should trigger continued funding versus termination.

Constraints

• Recommendation must fit within the next 18-month planning window.
• Engineering capacity is finite: continuing this effort would consume roughly 70 FTEs that could otherwise support customer-specific roadmap items.
• Defense procurement cycles are long, so near-term proof may come from pilots and down-selects rather than booked revenue.
• Any recommendation must preserve Anduril's credibility with current pilot customers and align with platform-level strategy, not a single product line.