Barracuda-M is a medium-range turbojet-powered cruise missile developed by American defence company Anduril Industries. Barracuda-M is the missile variant of the Barracuda AAV loitering munition. Anduril intends to pitch Barracuda to the United States Armed Forces as a low-cost 'hyper-scale production' alternative to comparable systems, such as AGM-158C LRASM.
Barracuda-M is designed to be launched from a plethora of systems, including in-service fighter and multirole aircraft; such as the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, as well as strategic bombers and various helicopters. The missile is also capable of being launched from Boeing C-17 Globemaster III and Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft via the Rapid Dragon missile system.
The price per unit of Barracuda is initially reported to be less than $200,000; a tenth of the cost of a Tomahawk missile. The expected price for the Taiwanese derivative of the Barracuda-500, developed by Taiwan's NCSIST and Anduril, was $216,000 as of 2025. In 2026, the Polish state-owned arms company PGZ has signed an agreement with Anduril Industries for the production of Barracuda-500M missiles in Poland.
Barracuda is said by Anduril to require 50% less time to produce, use 95% fewer tools, and 50% less parts.
Variants All Barracuda variants can withstand up to 5 g-forces and can work autonomously and collaboratively with other Barracuda missiles to act as decoys and conduct strike missions.
Barracuda-100
The Barracuda-100 variant would have a range of 120 nautical miles (222 km) and carry a 35lb (16kg) warhead. It can be launched from ground systems, rapid dragon, or Boeing AH-64 Apache and Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopters.
Barracuda-250
The Barracuda-250 would be solely air launched from the internal weapons bay of an F-35, or externally from an F-15E, F-16 or F/A-18 whilst having the same payload as the Barracuda-100 and a range of 200 nautical miles (370 km).
Barracuda-500
The Barracuda-500 would be launched by air from F-15s, F/A-18s, F-16s, F-35s or bombers, would have a payload of 100lb (45kg) and a range of more than 500 nautical miles (926 km). The Barracuda-500 has been designated AGM-189.https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/leidos-missile-usaf-designation/?cf-viewhttps://militarnyi.com/en/news/eram-missile-receives-official-designation/
Operators
Future operators
Polish Air Force: Barracuda-500M for use with F-16 and F-35 squadrons.
Republic of China Air Force: Barracuda-500 Republic of China Army: truck-mounted version of Barracuda-500
United States Army: Containerized version of the Barracuda-500
Potential Operators
References