Boeing Lost Lockheed Lost How Anduril Won — The Anduril Story Pt 2

Business Onion · 2:54

In April 2024 the Air Force picked who would build its first autonomous fighter jets. Boeing lost. Lockheed lost. Northrop lost. One of the two winners was a seven-year-old startup. To understand how impossible that was, you have to go back to a Pentagon dinner in 1993 — the night 51 defense contractors were told to merge or die, and became five. What those five inherited was cost-plus: the government repays whatever the work costs, then pays a fee on top. It exists for a reason. It also left no room for a sixth company. Anduril's bet was to walk through the door backwards — raise private money, build the weapon first, sell it finished at a fixed price, and eat the overruns itself. Part 2 of 3. Follow for Part 3 — Full Circle.