RAPSTONE: Arondite secures contract to deliver Cobalt to 16 Air Assault
Arondite has secured a significant contract to provide its Cobalt C2 system to the UK’s 16 Air Assault Brigade. As the tip of the spear, mastering the integration of autonomous drones could significantly increase the lethality of the formation.
By Sam Cranny-Evans, editor of Calibre Defence, published on March 11, 2026.
Arondite will provide its Cobalt C2 platform to 16 Air Assault Brigade under a significant contract from the British MoD. Described as a “multi-million pound” award, the British start-up will deploy Cobalt to provide ‘autonomy-native’ C2 of the battlefield.
In this role, Cobalt will act as a single platform to integrate and control uncrewed platforms. So, a force would be able to control different types of units – including drones and crewed platforms – on a single screen.
The platform will enable the UK’s paratroopers to “integrate, test and deploy a wide range of autonomous platforms from different suppliers.” Arondite will have teams embedded with various units in the brigade working across drone and electronic warfare integration, as well as C2.
“Unifying and accelerating every tool at the Army’s disposal helps make the Brigade more lethal on day one of the next conflict,” Will Blyth, the Arondite CEO said. In theory, adding FPVs and loitering munitions to the brigade’s equipment would give them more punch, as they are essentially light infantry.
The company has grown and developed rapidly since its founding in 2024, securing a £9 million seed round and announcing plans to invest £100 million in the UK.
- Arondite announces plan to invest £100 million in the UK – Calibre Defence
- Arondite raises $12 million in seed funding – Calibre Defence
The procurement has been implemented under Project RAPSTONE, the March 11 press release states. Project RAPSTONE has been set up to rapidly get new systems into use with the British Army. It is a follow on from the UK’s experience with supporting Ukraine.
Calibre comment: The race to double lethality
The British Army has been set the goal of doubling lethality by 2027. This was a daunting task from many perspectives, not least of them being the lack of funds. Some joked that simply buying ammunition would be a good start.
However, there is a clear and emerging focus on integrating unmanned systems, replicating successful patterns from Ukraine. Under Project ASGARD, the British Army has gained some experience of what it takes to make light infantry more lethal. The project showed that a consortium of companies could deliver improved capabilities in a matter of weeks.
Project RAPSTONE is designed to make some of those solutions real and get them into service. Arondite and Cobalt should be able to contribute meaningfully to this by facilitating the integration and C2 of drones. It is worth noting that this is a bottleneck for Ukrainian forces. They might have large teams overseeing the coordination of drone operations, cooperating through a mixture of Signal and Google Meet.
Cobalt should enable a single user to have an overview of all uncrewed and crewed assets in use with 16 Air Assault. As well as the intelligence and data that they gather. This would improve the Brigade’s ability to understand what is going on, and respond with coordinated crewed-uncrewed strikes.
The lead image shows two soldiers from the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Platoon, 2nd Battalion. They are flying an FPV in a drone racing competition. Credit: Cpl Aaron J Stone/UK MOD © Crown copyright 2025.
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