Role & capabilities
- Portable VTOL operation
- Observation and search-and-rescue variant
- Automated flight assistance
- Primary domain
- Air
- System type
- Multirole aircraft
- Developer / manufacturer
- Anduril Industries
- Origin / production countries
- United States
- Other names
- No additional names recorded
- Variants / configurations
- Bolt observation configuration; Bolt-M loitering-munition configuration
- Operators / programme customers
- US Marine Corps (Bolt-M use documented)
Evidence & current status
The in-use classification applies to Bolt-M. It does not imply equivalent acceptance of the base Bolt variant.
Bolt is Anduril's portable vertical-take-off family. The base aircraft is intended for observation and search-and-rescue work, while Bolt-M is the loitering-munition configuration. Anduril introduced both in October 2024, describing an aircraft and software system intended to automate routine flying while retaining a human operator's decisions.
The family now has stronger evidence than an exhibition announcement. A released US Marine Corps photograph documents Bolt-M use by Battalion Landing Team 1/8 at Camp Lejeune on 28 August 2026, in preparation for a Marine expeditionary deployment. That establishes actual military use of Bolt-M; it does not mean that the base observation version has the same operator history or that every ordered aircraft has been delivered.
The two variants remain named explicitly in this profile. Published performance figures quoted here belong to the manufacturer's original Bolt-M description and should not be used as an unqualified baseline for all later loads or software standards. Future updates should distinguish changes in the munition version from changes to the reusable observation aircraft.
Sourced specifications
Figures apply to the named configuration. Maximum values are not guaranteed operating performance.
| Specification | Reported value | Context & source |
|---|---|---|
| Airframe | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Launch / recovery | VTOL family | Published configuration baseline; maxima are not necessarily simultaneous. Source ↗ |
| Propulsion | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Dimensions | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Mass | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Endurance | Bolt-M: over 40 minutes | Manufacturer launch-era Bolt-M claim; not established for every subsequent configuration. Source ↗ |
| Range | Bolt-M: 20 km | Launch-era manufacturer range claim; not a universal mission radius. Source ↗ |
| Speed | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Altitude | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Payload | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Sensors | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
| Communications / navigation | Not established in the reviewed public sources. | Public evidence gap. No estimate or neighbouring variant value has been substituted. Source ↗ |
Documented milestones
Marine Corps unit use documented
Released imagery identifies Bolt-M with BLT 1/8 at Camp Lejeune.
Read the announcement ↗
Publication history
- — Added in the September 2026 global coverage review, with sources, configuration limits and explicit data gaps.
Suggest a correction to this entry →
Follow the evidence
Source types identify who makes the claim. Programme milestones and supplier statements should be read in context.
- Anduril Bolt and Bolt-M introduction, 10 October 2024 (opens in a new tab)Manufacturer / programme
- US Marine Corps released Bolt-M photograph and caption, 1 September 2026 (opens in a new tab)Military / operator