Public transcript

Why subterranean warfare is the next battleground | Palmer Luckey | The Axios Show Clip

By: Axios
Length: 5 min
Language: English
Text from: the video's captions
Transcribed: 13 October 2026

Read the full transcript Open on YouTube

Notes in English.

Summary

Palmer Luckey of Anduril discusses subterranean warfare systems, which he believes will define the second half of this century, and reveals Anduril has working prototypes. He also talks about Fury, an autonomous fighter jet selected by the Air Force, his willingness to build nuclear and certain chemical weapons but not biological ones, and the Arsenal-1 production facility going live in weeks. The conversation covers why he speaks loudly about these ideas and how autonomy makes subterranean systems cheaper and lower risk.

Key points

Palmer Luckey says subterranean vehicles that move through the Earth's crust like submarines will define at least the second half of this century.
Anduril has working prototypes of subterranean systems that can deliver kinetic, electronic, and other effects.
He predicts the next war-fighting domain is subterranean, then the moon, which will take longer to mature.
Cold War-era US and Soviet subterranean programs ended when the Cold War ended, but autonomy now makes these systems cheaper and lower risk.
Luckey names Fury, an autonomous fighter jet selected by the US Air Force, as the coolest thing Anduril has built.
He would build fission and fusion nuclear weapons and certain chemical weapons like pepper spray for military use, but not biological weapons.
Arsenal-1 production lines in Ohio are going live in a matter of weeks, ahead of schedule, making Barracuda, Fury, and other aircraft and missiles.
Full-scale production at Arsenal-1 is expected by around Q2 next year.

Questions it answers

00:00Subterranean warfare

Why does Palmer Luckey think subterranean warfare is the next battleground?

He argues the subterranean domain will define the second half of this century, before the moon becomes one. The US and Soviet Union pursued moving people and machines through the Earth's crust during the Cold War, but the dream died when the Cold War ended; autonomy now makes it cheap and low-risk.

Anduril has working subterranean prototypes delivering kinetic and electronic effects.
Luckey predicts subterranean, then the moon, as the next war-fighting domains.
Autonomy makes these systems cheaper and lower risk than Cold War-era attempts.

01:41Attracting talent

Why does Luckey talk publicly about subterranean systems?

He speaks loudly as a lighthouse to attract the right people—those who want to work on these problems and government people who need to solve them. He says progress is slower than he'd like because it seems so crazy, but it isn't.

He talks loudly to attract engineers and government stakeholders.
Progress is slower than he'd like because the idea seems crazy.

02:20Fury autonomous fighter jet

What does Luckey consider the coolest thing Anduril has built?

Fury, an autonomous fighter jet for the United States Air Force. Anduril competed against the big defense companies and was selected to deliver prototypes, which he found gratifying for the whole team.

Fury is an autonomous fighter jet for the US Air Force.
Anduril beat established defense primes for the contract.
Only about half of Anduril's products are public.

03:03Red lines on weapons

What weapons would Palmer Luckey build or refuse to build?

He would build fission and fusion nuclear weapons, viewing them as a stabilizing force, and would not build biological weapons. He would build chemical weapons only in a specific vertical, arguing that pepper spray and tear gas should be legal for military use, with no slippery slope to nerve agents.

He would build fission and fusion weapons, calling them historically stabilizing.
He would not build biological weapons.
He would build chemical weapons only in specific verticals like riot agents.

04:13Arsenal-1 production

When does Anduril's Arsenal-1 facility go live and what will it make?

The production lines are going live in a matter of weeks, ahead of schedule, after a final site survey in Ohio. The facility will make a variety of aircraft and missiles, including Barracuda and Fury, for SOCOM, the Army, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, and one other customer, reaching full scale by around Q2 next year.

Arsenal-1 lines go live in a matter of weeks, ahead of schedule.
The first building is about a million square feet.
Full scale is expected by Q2 next year.

Notes

Subterranean warfare as the next domain

Palmer Luckey believes vehicles that maneuver through the Earth's crust like submarines move through water will define at least the second half of this century.
He predicts the next war-fighting domain is subterranean, followed later by the moon, which will take longer to become a real domain.
Anduril has working prototypes of subterranean systems that can deliver kinetic, electronic, and other effects.
During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union believed the crust of the Earth would become a battle space, but the dream ended when the Cold War ended and funding stopped.
Autonomy now allows these systems to be built much more cheaply and at much lower risk.
Luckey talks loudly about the idea to act as a lighthouse attracting the right engineers and government stakeholders; progress is slower than he'd like because it seems crazy, but it isn't.

Fury, the autonomous fighter jet

Luckey calls Fury, an autonomous fighter jet for the United States Air Force, the coolest thing Anduril has built.
Anduril competed with the big defense companies on their bread-and-butter work and won the Air Force selection to deliver prototypes.
Only about half of Anduril's products are public.

Weapons red lines

Luckey would build fission and fusion nuclear weapons, arguing they have been one of the most stabilizing forces in history by taking total war off the table.
He would not build biological weapons.
He would build chemical weapons only in a specific vertical, arguing pepper spray and tear gas should be allowed in conventional military tactics, and that there is no slippery slope from pepper spray to nerve agents.

Arsenal-1 production facility

The Arsenal-1 production lines are going live in a matter of weeks, ahead of the earlier "this July" estimate.
The first main building, about a million square feet, is done, and exterior work on a second building is complete.
The facility will make a variety of aircraft and missiles, including Barracuda and Fury, plus another aircraft for a different customer.
Products serve SOCOM, the Army, the Marine Corps, the Air Force, and one other customer, with square footage currently slanted toward one customer.
Full-scale production is expected by around Q2 next year.

Text from the video's own captions. Summary and notes written by AI from the transcript, so check anything important against the recording.