Ghost-X anchors DEPLOY's new-defense drone cohort: Western, AI-first builders (Anduril, Helsing, Shield AI) whose autonomy is verified-fielded, contrasted with legacy primes whose platforms (General Atomics MQ-9, Bayraktar TB2) are remotely-piloted, not autonomous.
✔
Ghost-X's autonomy is verified-substantive: the Lattice stack delivers fielded onboard autonomy (radio-silent flight, single-operator multi-drone teaming, automatic low-battery mission hand-off), and the registry wires Ghost to the Lattice brain, not to Shield AI's Hivemind.
Price
No reviewed price is on record. We do not treat unverified analyst estimates as pricing data. There is no consumer price. Ghost-X is defense procurement equipment sold to militaries on contract (the US Army selection runs under a $14.417 million ten-year indefinite-delivery contract), so DEPLOY records zero price points rather than a consumer figure.
Availability
Internal use only
Ghost-X is sold to defense customers, not consumers. It was selected for the US Army's Company-Level small-UAS Tranche 1 (September 2024) and is being fielded to Brigade Combat Teams under the Replicator initiative, with more than 1,200 unit-hours logged across thirteen Army units.
Real-world status
Ghost (current Ghost-X variant) is the production-maturity anchor of the new-defense drone cohort and a verified-autonomous case, not a remotely-piloted platform dressed up as AI. It is a helicopter-style single-rotor VTOL small drone for ISR, redesigned on Ukrainian combat feedback from the 2020 Ghost 4, and it runs Anduril's Lattice autonomy: fielded onboard capability including radio-silent flight, single-operator multi-drone teaming, and automatic low-battery mission hand-off. The registry wires Ghost to the Lattice brain (not to Shield AI's Hivemind). Its verified gating events are strong: the Army Tranche 1 selection, Replicator fielding, combat use in Ukraine since 2022, and a $1 billion Ohio manufacturing facility announced January 2025.
💡
The verified gating events are the deployment record, not the spec sheet: a September 2024 Army Tranche 1 selection under a $14.417 million ten-year contract, Replicator fielding to Brigade Combat Teams, and combat use in Ukraine since 2022.
⊘
There is no consumer price. Ghost-X is defense procurement equipment sold on contract, so DEPLOY records zero price points rather than a consumer figure.
New-defense drones: Ghost-X vs HX-2 vs V-BAT
Anduril Ghost-X
Helsing HX-2
Shield AI V-BAT
Maturity
Production
🟢verified
Production
🟢verified
Production
🟢verified
Autonomy stack
Lattice
🟢verified
Onboard EW-resistant AI
🟢verified
Hivemind
🟢verified
Role
VTOL ISR small UAS
🟢verified
Strike / loitering munition
🟢verified
VTOL ISR (Group 3)
🟢verified
Verified anchor
$14.4M Army IDIQ + Replicator
🟢verified
1,950 HF-1 delivered (Ukraine)
🟢verified
2 deployments (USCG, Ukraine)
🟢verified
Cap-flagged
None
🟢verified
6,000 HX-2 ordered, not delivered
🟡stated
None
🟢verified
Origin
Anduril (US)
🟢verified
Helsing (Germany)
🟢verified
Shield AI (US)
🟢verified
Sources: US Army / DIU, Helsing, Shield AI, DEPLOY registry
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Ghost-X autonomous or remotely piloted?
Verified-autonomous🟢verified: it runs Anduril's Lattice with fielded onboard autonomy (radio-silent flight, single-operator multi-drone teaming, automatic mission hand-off), not a remotely-piloted platform with AI-assist marketing.
Can I buy an Anduril Ghost-X?
No⊘absence. It is defense procurement equipment sold to militaries on contract; there is no consumer price.
What contracts has Ghost-X won?
A September 2024 US Army Company-Level small-UAS Tranche 1 selection under a $14.417 million ten-year contract🟢verified, plus Replicator fielding to Brigade Combat Teams and combat use in Ukraine since 2022.
What is Lattice?
Anduril's autonomy software stack🟢verified. The registry wires Ghost to the Lattice brain; note Hivemind is Shield AI's stack, not Anduril's, so Ghost is not wired to it.
How does Ghost-X compare to HX-2 and V-BAT?
All three are production-maturity, verified-autonomous new-defense drones🟢verified; Ghost-X is the VTOL ISR anchor (Lattice), Helsing HX-2 is a strike munition, and Shield AI V-BAT is a Group 3 VTOL ISR drone (Hivemind).
Pricing and availability are tagged verified or claimed against primary sources. Manufacturer targets are reported as targets, not prices you can pay today.