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Meet Steelfin—Anduril Says It Can Deliver 80% of PAC-3 Capability for Less Than Half the Price
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Anduril Industries has unveiled Steelfin, a new family of air and missile defense interceptors designed to offer a significantly cheaper alternative to Patriot’s PAC-3 missiles while remaining compatible with existing US air defense infrastructure, The War Zone reported on October 12.
The company is developing a Steelfin configuration specifically for launch from the M903A2 launcher already used with PAC-3 interceptors.
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Steve Milano, an Anduril representative, told The War Zone that the version intended to perform PAC-3-type missions could deliver roughly 80% of the interceptor’s capability for less than half the cost.
That price difference is central to Anduril’s pitch. Modern air defense systems face growing pressure from large missile and drone salvos, making the cost and availability of individual interceptors increasingly important.
Anduril says it intends to manufacture several thousand Steelfin missiles annually, using a common production base for multiple variants rather than building each configuration around an entirely separate industrial line.
Steelfin is being designed as a modular, two-stage weapon. The first stage will act as a booster and determine much of the missile’s range and flight performance, while the second stage will serve as the interceptor itself.
Different versions could use alternative motors, seekers, and other components depending on whether the target is a cruise missile, ballistic missile, or higher-speed threat.
Anduril is also looking beyond Patriot. The company is studying integration with the Mk 41 vertical launch system used aboard US and allied warships, as well as the land-based Typhon missile system, potentially allowing the same interceptor family to operate across several existing launch architectures.
More powerful Steelfin variants are being developed for higher-end missile defense missions, including ballistic and hypersonic threats. Milano told The War Zone that one configuration could eventually perform missions comparable to the THAAD missile defense system at a substantially lower cost.
The company has already carried out ballistic testing of demonstration hardware, while flight tests of different Steelfin configurations are scheduled to begin in 2027.
Earlier, Ukrainian missile maker Fire Point has updated its FP-7.x Freyja interceptor with a combined infrared and radar seeker. The revised specification replaces the infrared-only seeker previously described for the missile.
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