Anduril Plans to Manufacture 7,000 Barracuda Cruise Missiles in 2027

The American company Anduril plans to manufacture 7,000 low-cost Barracuda-500 (SLB-500M) cruise missiles in 2027.

This was announced by Trey Stevens, co-founder and executive chairman of the board of directors at Anduril Industries, in an interview with Arena.

According to him, Fury unmanned aircraft will begin rolling off the production line in Ohio during the summer of 2026, and production of the low-cost Barracuda cruise missile will begin there in the fall.

“We are currently launching a number of manufacturing facilities. We have 16 different production sites around the world—and I really do mean the whole world. In Australia, we manufacture unmanned underwater vehicles. Over the next year, many production facilities will also begin operations outside the U.S. The bulk of our investment is going toward Arsenal-1 in Columbus, where we will expand the facility’s floor space from 800,000 to 5 million square feet over the next five to six years,” said Trey Stevens.

On May 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of Defense announced a framework agreement with Anduril to procure and deliver at least 3,000 fully equipped SLB-500M systems over three years as part of a program to procure low-cost ground-launched cruise missiles.

Under the agreement, Anduril is to scale up production to supply at least 1,000 fully equipped missiles per year. The first batch is scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2027. Anduril is also to supply the corresponding launchers for the SLB-500M—more than 60 units in 2027.

In May 2026, Anduril closed a $5 billion Series H funding round, valuing the company at $61 billion. Prior to that, in 2025, the company more than doubled its revenue to $2.2 billion.

Barracuda-500

The Barracuda-500 is not a conventional cruise missile, but rather a jet-powered UAV capable of carrying various types of combat payloads, reconnaissance equipment, or electronic warfare systems. These are installed on board before the mission begins, depending on the type of mission and the role of each Barracuda-500 within a larger group.

The Barracuda-500M variant—the SLB-500M with a warhead—is essentially a small cruise missile with a range of over 500 nautical miles (over 926 km) and a payload weighing over 100 pounds (approximately 45 kg). It is capable of maneuvering at up to 5 G and has a flight duration of over 120 minutes.

Anduril states that the maximum speed of all Barracuda variants, equipped with small turbojet engines, is ‘up to 500 knots’ (approximately 926 km/h), depending on the launch mode and other factors.

The company states that these cruise missiles consist of 70% commercially available components, and that the risks associated with the remaining 30% have been mitigated through competitive, open-architecture solutions from multiple suppliers.

The production cost of a single production-model platform is expected to be no more than $150,000, which is significantly lower than the cost of conventional cruise missiles.

It has also been stated that the SLB-500M’s simple design allows the missile to be assembled in just 30 hours using ten common hand tools, enabling rapid scaling of production to meet urgent demand.

These missiles were originally designed for air launch, but in September 2025, Anduril conducted tests of the Barracuda-500 launched from a ground-based launcher. The containerized launch system is housed in a standard 20-foot ISO container. Up to 16 fully loaded missiles can be loaded into it at an ammunition depot, after which it can be transported and deployed to the required launch site.