US Marines pick Anduril's Bolt-M loitering munition for infantry squads

The US Marine Corps has selected Anduril's Bolt-M as its squad-level loitering munition under the Organic Precision Fires–Light (OPF-L) program, awarding a $23.9 million contract for more than 600 systems plus ground control and support equipment. Deliveries run February 2026 through April 2027, with operational fielding to infantry expected in summer 2026; the award follows an initial tranche of more than 250 units that went through roughly 13 months of testing. Bolt-M is the loitering-munition variant of Anduril's Bolt quadcopter — a vertical-takeoff system light enough to be carried in a pack and launched by small teams without dedicated launch equipment, flown on Anduril's Lattice-based autonomy.

Technical Breakdown

• Platform / class: man-packable VTOL loitering munition (derived from the Bolt sUAS)
• Weight: ~13–15 lb all-up (squad-portable)
• Range / endurance: 20+ km range; ~40 minutes endurance
• Payload: explosive warhead up to ~1.4 kg (3 lb) per the published spec, configurable for anti-personnel, anti-materiel or anti-armour effects
• Autonomy / C2: Lattice-based control; rapid launch in confined terrain
• Production: ~100 units/month, targeting ~175/month within the year

Industry Impact

For ground forces, putting precision beyond-line-of-sight effects in a backpack reflects lessons from recent conflicts where small drones reshaped the battlefield. For manufacturers, OPF-L rewards affordable, high-rate production over exquisite systems. For regulators and doctrine, squad-level autonomous munitions sharpen human-control and training questions. For investors, recurring squad-munition orders convert Anduril's drone portfolio into volume revenue.