Who is the next Anduril?
In our defense tech market deck, you will find everything you need to understand the market
SUMMARY
Helsing is the strongest candidate to become the next Anduril today.
The comparison requires more than fast growth or a valuable defense niche. An Anduril-like company needs reusable military software, owned hardware, credible manufacturing, and funded production programs that reinforce one another.
Helsing has copied that structure more closely than any rival. Its portfolio now spans command software, electronic warfare, strike drones, underwater systems, a planned combat aircraft, robotics, acquisitions, factories, and major government orders.
Its lead is strategic rather than fully proven. Helsing has reproduced more of Anduril’s playbook than its production record, and several of its most ambitious platforms still need flight tests, operational deployments, repeat orders, or customers outside Germany.
Shield AI is the clearest threat to that ranking because Hivemind has stronger public evidence as a reusable autonomy layer. It could become more important than a broad hardware portfolio if militaries standardize on its software across aircraft built by several manufacturers.
Saronic shows that the next major defense prime may emerge without becoming a second Anduril. Its autonomous boats, Navy production contract, operational deployment, existing shipyard, and planned Port Alpha complex could make it dominant at sea while it remains a single-domain company.
Quantum Systems is the least flashy challenger and perhaps the easiest to underestimate. Battlefield experience, real factories, large unit orders, ground-vehicle expansion, open command software, and reported profitability give it a grounded path from drone maker to multi-domain supplier.
The funding boom is real, but financing is a weak way to choose the winner. Production contracts, second orders, delivered systems, factory output, and difficult operational missions reveal far more than another private-market valuation.
Europe is both Helsing’s advantage and its constraint. Demand for sovereign European weapons gives the company a strong home market, while fragmented national procurement could keep its largest programs concentrated in only a few countries.
The race will be decided by repeat execution. Helsing stays first if it delivers HX-2 at scale, establishes SG-1 operations, flies CA-1, and wins broader international orders; otherwise the market may split among Shield AI in autonomy, Saronic at sea, Quantum Systems in mass-produced robotics, and specialists such as Castelion or Epirus.
This market map, featured in our defense tech market deck, highlights top companies and startups in the defense tech market
Who is the next Anduril?
Why is everyone asking who the next Anduril is now?
The hunt for the next Anduril has become serious because defense startups are finally receiving enough money and real military orders to challenge established contractors.
The amount of capital arriving lately is hard to dismiss. Anduril, Helsing, Shield AI, Saronic, and Quantum Systems have announced about $11.75 billion of financing between them this year. That figure comes from only five companies, rather than the entire defense-tech market.
Government spending is also starting to follow the investment. Pentagon contracting with the 15 largest defense startups has roughly tripled since 2022, according to a recent Wall Street Journal analysis. Startups still receive less than 1% of total Pentagon contract spending, but the direction has clearly changed.
Several recent awards would have seemed improbable a few years ago. The U.S. Air Force moved Anduril’s autonomous fighter into production. The U.S. Navy gave Saronic a $392 million production contract for autonomous boats. Germany placed major strike-drone orders with Helsing and Stark rather than relying entirely on traditional suppliers. Shield AI secured a production contract for the autonomy software inside the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
These companies are no longer surviving on research grants and demonstrations alone. Some are now receiving orders for weapons and vehicles that militaries expect to use.
Anduril has already shown that a new defense prime can emerge. The interesting question now is which company can follow it.
What would the next Anduril actually look like?
The next Anduril would combine military software, owned hardware, large-scale manufacturing, and major government programs inside one growing company.
A startup could become extremely valuable by dominating hypersonic missiles, drone defense, military software, or autonomous ships. That would still make it a specialist supplier rather than another Anduril.
Anduril’s unusual advantage comes from the way its businesses connect. Lattice provides a common software layer across surveillance systems, drones, autonomous aircraft, underwater vehicles, missiles, and command centers. Each deployment can improve other products.
Anduril also takes responsibility for manufacturing. It develops factories, supply chains, engines, rocket motors, sensors, and complete military vehicles rather than stopping after producing software or a prototype.
The next Anduril should pass four tests: reusable software, owned military hardware, credible manufacturing, and funded government production orders.
Few defense startups currently pass more than two.
As this chart shows, and as featured in our defense tech market deck, search interest in defense tech has risen sharply
Has Anduril already become impossible to catch?
Anduril has pulled far enough ahead that no startup is likely to match it soon, although another company can still build a similar position in Europe or within a narrower group of military markets.
The financial gap has become enormous. Anduril generated a reported $2.2 billion of revenue in 2025 and recently raised $5 billion at a $61 billion valuation. Helsing, Shield AI, Saronic, and Quantum Systems are together worth less than Anduril despite their latest funding rounds.
More importantly, Anduril keeps converting ambitious projects into production.
The U.S. Air Force recently selected Anduril to produce an initial batch of FQ-44 autonomous combat aircraft. The agreement includes a route toward additional production lots. Anduril also received new framework agreements intended to support the production of thousands of Barracuda cruise missiles per year.
Australia has already committed A$1.7 billion to acquiring and supporting Ghost Shark autonomous submarines. A dedicated Sydney factory opened only weeks after that program became official. Anduril is also expanding domestic rocket-motor production with U.S. government support.
Acquisitions helped create this breadth. Dive Technologies supplied large underwater vehicles. Blue Force Technologies brought combat-aircraft engineering. Adranos added rocket motors. Numerica strengthened radar and air-defense capabilities.
Competitors are chasing a company that has already reached production in several categories where they are still testing prototypes.
Which defense startup is closest to becoming the next Anduril?
Helsing is currently the closest startup to Anduril because it combines the broadest product portfolio with a shared AI foundation, owned military hardware, acquisitions, factories, and real government demand.
Shield AI has the strongest dedicated autonomy platform. Hivemind is flying on several aircraft, including platforms built by other companies. Its limitation is the concentration of its owned products in aviation.
Saronic has moved fastest from startup experimentation into serious maritime production. Its software, vessels, Navy contract, operational deployment, and shipyard investments create a powerful business inside one military domain.
Quantum Systems combines large drone orders, battlefield experience, existing factories, ground vehicles, and a multi-domain command platform. Its broader expansion is newer than Helsing’s, but it is developing from a stronger production base than many investors realize.
Helsing still leads because it covers more ground.
The company started with software for military sensors, electronic warfare, and decision-making. It has since expanded into HX-2 strike drones, SG-1 autonomous underwater gliders, the CA-1 Europa combat-aircraft program, electronic-warfare systems, robotics research, command software, and tactical space reconnaissance.
Helsing has supported that expansion with targeted acquisitions. Grob Aircraft brought decades of experience manufacturing composite aircraft. Blue Ocean added underwater-vehicle expertise. The company is using those teams to enter difficult hardware categories without building every engineering capability from zero.
Its recent CA-1 electronic-attack variant also shows how Helsing wants the portfolio to connect. The two CA-1 versions share an airframe, propulsion, autonomy software, and ground equipment while carrying different mission payloads.
Other startups deserve attention without fitting the full comparison. Castelion is advancing lower-cost hypersonic weapons. Epirus is building high-power microwave systems against drone swarms. CHAOS Industries is developing advanced sensing. Vannevar Labs is growing inside military intelligence software.
No challenger currently follows the full Anduril playbook as closely as Helsing.
| Company | Strongest case today | What keeps it behind Helsing |
|---|---|---|
| Helsing | Broad software, weapons, aircraft, underwater systems and factories | Several major platforms still need operational proof |
| Shield AI | Strongest reusable military autonomy software | Owned hardware remains heavily concentrated in aviation |
| Saronic | Best autonomous-shipbuilding challenger | Almost the entire business remains maritime |
| Quantum Systems | Strong production base and battlefield experience | Multi-domain expansion has only recently begun |
| Castelion | Fast progress toward operational hypersonic weapons | One main weapon family |
| Epirus | Credible non-kinetic defense against drone swarms | One main mission and product platform |
If you want more recent data on this point, please see our latest defense tech market report.
This chart, included in our defense tech market deck, shows annual VC investment in defense tech startups
Does Helsing have real military demand yet?
Helsing already has enough military demand to be taken seriously, although its valuation assumes that today’s first large orders will spread across more countries and products.
Ukraine provides the strongest volume evidence. Helsing announced production of 6,000 HX-2 strike drones after an earlier order for 4,000 HF-1 drones. A combined 10,000 systems places the company well beyond the usual defense-startup stage of producing small trial batches.
Germany provides the strongest financial evidence. The government approved an initial HX-2 order worth about €269 million, with options that could eventually bring Helsing’s share of the program to €1.46 billion. German lawmakers also approved a €223 million combat-cloud project involving Helsing.
The company has work inside larger European aircraft programs as well. Helsing and Saab received a contract worth hundreds of millions of euros to add AI-supported electronic warfare to German Eurofighters. Centaur has already flown on a Saab Gripen test aircraft, giving the autonomy software a path into existing fighter fleets before CA-1 is ready.
Recent U.S. military testing added outside validation. During an Army exercise in Lithuania, 17 HX-2 drones reportedly achieved 15 direct hits and two near misses. The broader exercise involved roughly 200 flights, making the result more useful than a single prepared demonstration.
Helsing now has meaningful demand across expendable strike systems, software for existing aircraft, and command infrastructure. The next test is whether those first orders become repeat business outside Germany and Ukraine.
Can Helsing really build all this hardware?
Helsing’s hardware expansion looks credible at the drone and underwater-vehicle level, while its autonomous combat aircraft and robotics programs remain much earlier bets.
HX-2 is the easiest product to scale first. Small strike drones use fewer components, shorter production cycles, and simpler maintenance systems than combat aircraft. Helsing already has large orders, Ukrainian operating experience, and a partnership with Eurenco to develop European-made warheads.
SG-1 Fathom has also moved beyond a digital rendering. Helsing opened a factory in Plymouth to produce and maintain the underwater gliders after trials in British and Australian waters. The compact vehicles are designed to operate in groups for persistent submarine and infrastructure surveillance.
CA-1 brings far more risk. A combat aircraft requires engines, flight controls, sensors, secure communications, weapons integration, testing, maintenance planning, and government approval. Helsing has Grob’s manufacturing experience and Hensoldt’s sensors, but CA-1 still needs to complete its first flight and attract a committed launch customer.
The electronic-attack variant makes CA-1 more commercially interesting, but it also adds integration work before the basic aircraft has flown.
RX-1 should still be viewed as a research platform. Helsing says Area 9 will use it to develop robotic intelligence, but no large production program is attached to the vehicle.
Helsing does not need every project to work. It does need two or three hardware families to reach repeat production. HX-2 is closest, followed by SG-1, while CA-1 carries the largest upside and the greatest risk.
This chart, included in our defense tech market deck, shows why Anduril is winning in defense tech
Does Europe help Helsing or hold it back?
Europe currently gives Helsing a strong home-field advantage, although fragmented procurement could eventually slow the company.
European governments want more weapons produced inside Europe. They are worried about ammunition shortages, foreign software control, export restrictions, and dependence on American suppliers. Helsing can present itself as an answer to all four problems.
Its business is deliberately spread across Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. Grob manufactures aircraft in Germany. The Plymouth factory produces underwater systems. Eurenco can supply European warheads. Hensoldt contributes sensors. A new factory in West Virginia gives Helsing an opening into the United States.
The European Union’s Readiness 2030 initiative could mobilize as much as €800 billion for defense. Drones, electronic warfare, artificial intelligence, missiles, and critical-infrastructure protection sit close to Helsing’s main products.
The difficulty is that Europe still behaves like many markets rather than one. Germany, France, Britain, Poland, Italy, and smaller countries run different competitions, protect different suppliers, and often demand domestic manufacturing.
Helsing has responded by partnering with Saab, Hensoldt, Grob, Eurenco, and OHB rather than trying to displace every incumbent.
Europe helps Helsing today. It becomes a weakness only if major orders remain concentrated in Germany or national governments prevent the company from expanding across the region.
Is Shield AI actually better at military autonomy?
Shield AI currently owns the stronger pure military-autonomy position because Hivemind has flown on more third-party aircraft and has now entered a U.S. Air Force production program.
The strongest validation comes from the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program. Hivemind completed a flight aboard Anduril’s YFQ-44 aircraft and later received a production contract from the Air Force as a standalone mission-autonomy provider.
That arrangement says more than a routine partnership. Anduril has its own Lattice autonomy stack, yet the Air Force still selected Shield AI to supply another autonomy layer for one of Anduril’s most important aircraft.
Hivemind has also moved quickly between platforms. Shield AI integrated it with a Mitsubishi aircraft project and completed autonomous flight tests in less than 60 days. The company demonstrated autonomous strike and teaming with Destinus, won work on the low-cost LUCAS attack-drone program, and flew an autonomous electronic-warfare mission with L3Harris.
During the L3Harris test, an uncrewed aircraft detected electromagnetic threats and changed the routes of following aircraft without human input. That is a more demanding use of autonomy than flying a fixed route or recognizing an object.
Shield AI’s acquisitions support the same goal. Heron Systems brought the AI that defeated a human fighter pilot in DARPA’s AlphaDogfight trials. Sentient Vision added visual detection. Aechelon added simulation and synthetic training environments. Martin UAV supplied V-BAT.
Helsing’s Centaur may eventually prove equally capable. Public evidence still gives Hivemind the edge because it has been integrated, flown, and selected across a wider range of outside platforms.
If you want more recent data on this point, please see our latest defense tech market report.
This chart, included in our defense tech market deck, shows annual funding in defense tech startups
Can Shield AI become more than an aviation company?
Shield AI can become much larger than a drone manufacturer, but its best route is selling Hivemind across other companies’ platforms rather than building an Anduril-sized hardware catalog itself.
V-BAT gives Shield AI an established aircraft business. India selected V-BAT together with Hivemind licenses. Poland ordered the aircraft for naval operations. Greece expanded its fleet. Japan chose V-BAT as its first ship-based intelligence drone, while the U.S. Navy included Shield AI in a program where selected suppliers can compete for up to $800 million of surveillance work.
X-BAT could move Shield AI into a much larger market. The planned vertical-takeoff autonomous fighter uses a GE F110 engine and is designed to carry large internal weapons over long distances. Shield AI recently completed an integrated engine and thrust-vectoring test, with flight testing planned next.
The aircraft is still years from production. Flight tests, mission integration, and government evaluation all come first.
Hivemind offers a faster route into new markets. Shield AI has already announced work involving attack drones, helicopters, European aircraft, Taiwanese surface vessels, and maritime surveillance.
Those maritime projects remain partnerships rather than an owned family of ships. Shield AI also lacks its own ground vehicles, missiles, radar systems, underwater platforms, and large command network.
Shield AI currently looks more like the leading independent AI pilot for military vehicles than a second Anduril.
Could Saronic become the Anduril of the sea?
Saronic has the strongest single-domain case in defense technology today because its autonomous boats have moved from production orders into real military operations.
The U.S. Navy awarded Saronic a $392 million production contract for Corsair vessels, with close to $200 million funded immediately. Corsair is a 24-foot autonomous boat designed for surveillance, electronic warfare, and other naval missions.
A recent operation near the Strait of Hormuz gave Saronic evidence that few startups possess. A Corsair helped locate and recover two U.S. Army Apache aviators from the water after their helicopter went down. The operation was reported as the first known recovery of U.S. military personnel involving an autonomous boat.
The mission did not validate every part of Saronic’s autonomy or combat capability. It did show that the Navy had deployed the vessel in a dangerous operating area and trusted it during an urgent real-world recovery.
Saronic is also moving toward larger ships. Its portfolio extends from Corsair to Mirage and the 150-foot Marauder. The acquisition of Gulf Craft gave the company a working Louisiana shipyard and experienced employees who already know how to build larger vessels.
The company has now selected Brownsville, Texas, for Port Alpha, a planned $3.2 billion shipyard covering hundreds of acres. Operations are expected to begin in 2028, with the site designed for autonomous and next-generation naval vessels.
Saronic’s Echelon software connects navigation, simulation, mission planning, and fleet control. That gives the company a software-and-hardware loop similar to Anduril’s, but concentrated entirely at sea.
Maritime focus may become a strength. American shipbuilding has serious capacity problems, while the Navy wants larger numbers of less expensive autonomous vessels. Saronic can become a major new prime by solving that problem alone.
The company would need to enter underwater systems, aircraft, weapons, or broader military command software before it could challenge Helsing for the full “next Anduril” title.
This chart, included in our defense tech market deck, compares the main business model options for defense AI contractors
Is Quantum Systems the most underrated Anduril rival?
Quantum Systems deserves more attention because it is expanding from a proven drone manufacturer into ground robotics and multi-domain autonomy without abandoning near-term production.
The company’s Vector reconnaissance drones have accumulated extensive operating experience in Ukraine. That experience exposes hardware and software to jamming, changing enemy tactics, rough maintenance conditions, and rapid battlefield feedback.
Quantum Systems is now expanding around that base. It unveiled MANDRILL, a modular unmanned ground vehicle with a payload above 750 kilograms. A recent Ukrainian contract covers ten MANDRILL vehicles and ten Daimler Zetros trucks fitted with the company’s ground-autonomy kit for frontline evaluation.
The company has also been tasked with delivering 15,000 interceptor drones through its relationship with WIY Drones. That order gives Quantum Systems one of the clearest current paths toward genuine unit volume among the leading challengers.
MOSAIC UXS is intended to connect vehicles across air, land, and eventually sea. Unlike the more closed software stacks of several competitors, Quantum Systems describes MOSAIC as open to systems made by other manufacturers. A partnership with Destinus already connects its reconnaissance network with strike platforms.
This expansion comes with financial support. Quantum Systems recently raised $1.2 billion at a valuation of approximately $8 billion. Its backers have described the company as profitable, which would distinguish it from several highly valued peers still investing far ahead of revenue.
Quantum Systems currently lacks Helsing’s aircraft, underwater systems, electronic-warfare programs, and political profile. Its approach is less glamorous but easier to understand. The company is using real customers and factories to move one step at a time from drones into a connected family of autonomous vehicles.
A few large repeat orders could quickly move Quantum Systems above more famous competitors.
If you want more recent data on this point, please see our latest defense tech market report.
Which Anduril rival can actually manufacture at scale?
No challenger currently matches Anduril’s complete manufacturing loop, but Helsing has the broadest factory network, Quantum Systems has the strongest unit-volume evidence, and Saronic is making the largest industrial bet.
Helsing is building a distributed network of Resilience Factories. Britain produces underwater gliders. Germany supports aircraft and drone work. West Virginia will become the company’s first U.S. manufacturing base. Partnerships with Eurenco, Hensoldt, Grob, and other suppliers reduce the number of complex components Helsing must develop alone.
The large Ukrainian drone program already forces Helsing to manage suppliers, explosives, electronics, testing, software updates, delivery, and field feedback at scale. That experience will help with other expendable weapons, although it says less about combat-aircraft production.
Quantum Systems has the clearest near-term volume plan. Reconnaissance drones, interceptor drones, ground vehicles, and autonomy kits can share suppliers, software, and customer relationships. The company also operates facilities and localization partnerships across Europe, Ukraine, the United States, Australia, and Taiwan.
Saronic faces the hardest manufacturing problem. The existing Gulf Craft yard gives it a starting point, while Port Alpha could eventually create capacity that traditional U.S. shipyards cannot easily match.
The $3.2 billion Port Alpha plan still carries large execution risk. Construction, permitting, hiring, equipment installation, and supplier development must happen before the site can produce a single ship.
Shield AI has proven that it can build and deliver V-BATs. X-BAT will require a much larger industrial system involving engines, aircraft structures, testing, weapons, and maintenance.
Quantum Systems leads in expected unit volume. Saronic has the most aggressive heavy-industry plan. Helsing has the best chance of producing several different military product families within one network.
This chart, featured in our defense tech market deck, shows the share of revenue generated by each customer segment in the defense tech market
Is defense-tech funding creating a fake winner?
The defense-tech funding boom is inflating expectations, especially around Helsing, but the leading companies now have enough contracts to prevent the entire market from being dismissed as hype.
The gap between valuations and revenue is striking. A recent Financial Times analysis placed Helsing’s valuation at roughly 32 times projected annual revenue. Shield AI stood near 21 times, Anduril near 13 times, and Quantum Systems around 8.5 times.
Investors are assuming these companies will grow more like software businesses than conventional defense contractors. Shared software should allow faster product improvements, while autonomous systems could create larger production runs and international sales.
Parts of that argument are already working at Anduril. Revenue has grown quickly, several products have reached production, and the same software supports a widening portfolio.
The assumption becomes weaker when applied to a company with one major customer, an unflown aircraft, or a factory that has not opened. Large financing rounds can hide those gaps because the company does not urgently need positive cash flow.
Helsing carries the highest valuation risk. Its $18 billion price reflects expected success across strike drones, combat aircraft, underwater vehicles, software, robotics, and international manufacturing.
Shield AI’s valuation depends heavily on Hivemind becoming a widely used platform and X-BAT reaching flight and production. Saronic must turn shipyard spending into faster vessel deliveries. Quantum Systems needs to prove that its newer ground and command products can match its drone business.
Funding matters because defense hardware requires expensive development before revenue. Delivered systems and repeat orders remain much stronger evidence than another large financing round.
If you want more recent data on this point, please see our latest defense tech market report.
What could knock Helsing off the top spot?
Helsing keeps first place unless its broad portfolio begins missing delivery milestones, while Shield AI, Saronic, and Quantum Systems each have a clear route to overtake it.
For Helsing, the crucial evidence will come from deliveries. Large HX-2 orders must arrive on time and keep working as electronic warfare evolves. SG-1 needs regular naval deployments. CA-1 must fly and secure a government customer. New contracts outside Germany would show that Helsing can become a European or global supplier rather than a national champion.
Shield AI could take the lead by turning Hivemind into the standard autonomy layer for aircraft made by several manufacturers. Successful X-BAT flight tests would add an owned fighter-class platform to that software business. Expansion into operational maritime or ground systems would remove the biggest weakness in its current case.
Saronic could overtake both companies inside maritime defense. Marauder needs a major Navy program, and Port Alpha must show that software-defined shipbuilding can genuinely reduce delivery times. Broader adoption of Echelon on vessels built by other companies would give Saronic a platform business as well as a shipbuilding business.
Quantum Systems has the simplest path upward. The company needs to deliver its large interceptor order, turn Ukrainian ground trials into repeat purchases, and show that MOSAIC can connect third-party vehicles in active operations. Continued profitability would make those results especially powerful.
Another funding round would change little by itself. The ranking will move when governments order second batches, deploy systems in difficult missions, and choose the same company in more than one domain.
| Company | What would move it to first place | What would seriously weaken its case |
|---|---|---|
| Helsing | Repeat international drone orders, operational SG-1 fleets and a flying CA-1 with a committed buyer | Delayed deliveries, weak field performance or continued dependence on Germany |
| Shield AI | Hivemind adopted across several major aircraft programs and successful X-BAT flights | X-BAT delays and little progress outside aviation |
| Saronic | A major Marauder program and clear production gains from its new shipyards | Port Alpha delays or demand remaining limited to smaller boats |
| Quantum Systems | Repeat mass orders, profitable multi-domain growth and battlefield adoption of MOSAIC | New product lines failing to produce material revenue |
| Castelion | Blackbeard enters recurring operational production and expands into a weapon family | Integration delays or small pre-production orders that never scale |
| Epirus | A large Army production program and repeat international Leonidas purchases | Continued testing without broad field deployment |
This chart, included in our defense tech market deck, shows how tactical networking platform technology has evolved over time
So, who is the next Anduril?
Helsing is the next Anduril candidate today, although Shield AI has become a much closer rival than its narrower product catalog first suggests.
Helsing leads because it is attempting the full combination. The company has reusable military AI, software for existing weapons, owned strike drones, underwater systems, a planned combat aircraft, robotics research, targeted acquisitions, several factories, and large government orders.
No other challenger currently covers as much ground.
Shield AI has stronger public evidence that its autonomy software can move between different aircraft. Its recent Air Force production award, third-party flight tests, electronic-warfare demonstration, and international V-BAT orders make Hivemind a serious platform rather than a promise. Shield AI would become the stronger answer if Hivemind spreads beyond aviation and X-BAT reaches production.
Saronic ranks third overall while leading maritime autonomy. A major Navy order, a real rescue operation, an established shipyard, and the Port Alpha plan give Saronic unusually concrete industrial momentum. Its focus on one domain keeps it behind Helsing in the broader comparison.
Quantum Systems comes fourth and has the best chance of surprising the market. Its drone production, Ukrainian experience, interceptor volume, ground-vehicle contracts, open software strategy, and reported profitability create a more grounded expansion path than its lower public profile suggests.
Our answer is direct: Helsing currently has the strongest chance of becoming the next Anduril.
That judgment remains conditional because Helsing has reproduced Anduril’s strategy more convincingly than its results. The company still needs to deliver its largest drone orders, establish recurring underwater operations, fly CA-1, and win major customers outside Germany.
If Helsing clears those tests, the comparison will become deserved. If it stumbles, the market may never produce one obvious second Anduril. Shield AI could own military autonomy, Saronic could dominate autonomous ships, Quantum Systems could lead mass-produced battlefield robotics, and Castelion or Epirus could control individual weapons categories.
For now, Helsing offers the closest match to Anduril’s breadth, ambition, political position, and software-defined hardware model. It has not yet matched Anduril’s production record, which is precisely why the race remains open.
If you want more recent data on this point, please see our latest defense tech market report.
OUR METHODOLOGY
This analysis defines the “next Anduril” as a defense company that combines reusable military software, owned hardware, credible manufacturing, and funded government production programs. We used those four tests to separate broad new-prime candidates from valuable specialist suppliers.
We assessed companies across software platforms, product breadth, manufacturing capacity, government adoption, production readiness, acquisitions, operational deployments, and commercial momentum before making an overall ranking. The purpose was to let the strengths and gaps appear by category rather than starting with a favored company.
Recent evidence carried the most weight. Production contracts, repeat orders, delivered systems, operational use, factory openings, industrial investments, and integrations on third-party platforms showed current execution more directly than older demonstrations or long-established reputations.
Not every data point was treated equally. Fundraising and private valuations indicate investor confidence, but they ranked below funded production awards, repeat procurement, field deployments, manufacturing output, and evidence that one software layer can support several products or outside platforms.
We also looked for clusters of evidence rather than isolated announcements. A new aircraft, factory, acquisition, or military exercise can be important, but the stronger case appears when software, hardware, production, and customer demand begin reinforcing one another.
Key company sources included the official sites and newsrooms of Anduril, Helsing, Shield AI, Saronic, and Quantum Systems. We used those sources for product launches, acquisitions, factory plans, partnerships, and company-announced contracts.
Government and program evidence came primarily from the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, DARPA, the German Federal Ministry of Defence, the UK Ministry of Defence, NATO, and the European Commission’s defense initiatives. Partner announcements from Saab, HENSOLDT, Eurenco, and OHB helped cross-check integrations and industrial relationships.
The ranking reflects the evidence available at the time of writing. It should move when companies deliver second production batches, open factories, complete flight or sea trials, win customers in additional countries, or prove that their software works across more than one product family.
In our defense tech market deck, we identify pain points entrepreneurs should prioritize
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