AEVEX Corp. has announced Specter, a new jet‑powered autonomous platform under development in collaboration Divergent.
The U.S. defence technology company, which specialises in autonomous unmanned systems, says Specter will expands its portfolio with a high-speed, modular, turbojet-powered one-way attack platform built for demanding operational environments.
Designed for contested environments and extended mission profiles, Specter’s modular airframe architecture and software‑defined capability are intended to support a wide range of payload types and mission effects. The platform will incorporate a turbojet propulsion architecture, enabling both ground‑launched and air‑launched variants while maintaining flexibility for future mission expansion.
Specter features a modular, swappable nose section designed to accommodate kinetic, non‑kinetic, electronic warfare, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and future payloads. Its architecture is engineered to enable rapid integration of new technologies without requiring a full system redesign, supporting responsiveness as mission requirements evolve.
The program leverages AEVEX’s recently announced collaboration with Divergent Technologies. Divergent’s digital manufacturing platform, DAPS, is being incorporated into Specter’s development to support modern, resilient, and scalable production, enabling rapid iteration and manufacturability considerations from the earliest engineering stages.
“Specter reflects our lessons learned on capability from delivering thousands of autonomous systems in theater,” said Manan Patel, Chief Technology Officer at AEVEX. “We are not optimizing for a fixed requirement, we are building an architecture that adapts. Specter is designed to evolve with mission demands, payload technologies, and manufacturing advances over time.”
Sam Davies
