Scout AI Demonstrates Lethal AI-Controlled Drones in California

Scout AI recently conducted a live demonstration at a military installation in central California, where its artificial intelligence agents operated unmanned vehicles and drones in a coordinated mission. The event showcased the ability of these systems to carry out kinetic operations under AI control.

During the demonstration, Scout AI’s Fury Orchestrator system received a high-level directive to deploy a ground vehicle and two drones. The system interpreted the command and executed a mission to locate and destroy a truck positioned 500 meters east of an airfield using an explosive device.

The demonstration involved lethal drones and an unmanned ground vehicle, all managed by AI agents. The event was designed to highlight the integration of AI in autonomous military operations, with the Fury Orchestrator coordinating the assets in real time.

Scout AI’s Fury Orchestrator is a software layer developed to enable the coordination of mixed fleets of unmanned vehicles, including those operating in environments with limited communications. According to published information, the system is intended to keep human operators central to the command process while allowing autonomous execution at the edge.

What the numbers show

• Scout AI was founded in 2024 and is based in Sunnyvale, California
• The company raised $15 million in seed funding in April 2025
• Scout AI announced a U.S. Army contract on August 29, 2025, with a potential value up to $150 million

Scout AI’s CEO Colby Adcock stated that the company currently holds four contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense. He also said Scout AI is competing for an additional contract focused on swarm-control systems for unmanned aerial vehicles, with deployment readiness estimated to be more than a year away.

In April 2025, Scout AI emerged from stealth and announced its initial funding round, which was led by Align Ventures and Booz Allen Hamilton’s venture capital arm. At that time, the company also revealed multiple contracts with the Department of Defense.

The company’s flagship product, Fury, is described as a vision-language-action foundation model. This model is designed to support autonomous operations across various domains, including ground, air, sea, and space platforms.

On August 29, 2025, Scout AI announced it had secured a U.S. Army Unmanned Systems autonomy contract. The agreement covers integration of the Fury platform onto Infantry Squad Vehicles over a 16-month period, with the contract’s potential value reaching up to $150 million.

* This article is based on publicly available information at the time of writing.