Blue Origin, Anduril win military ‘rocket cargo’ study contracts

WASHINGTON — Blue Origin and defense tech contractor Anduril Industries have secured new contracts to help the U.S. military explore whether commercial rockets can be used to move supplies around the globe at unprecedented speeds.

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) last month awarded Blue Origin $1.3 million and Anduril $1 million under the Rocket Experimentation for Global Agile Logistics program, known as REGAL, according to a statement from program manager Daniel Brown.

Blue Origin will assess how its space vehicles could be adapted for “point-to-point” transport — launching cargo payloads aboard a rocket from one location and deploying them at specific locations. Anduril’s award is for “design and analysis to integrate multiple potential government payloads into a rocket cargo delivery container or reentry system,” Brown said.

The effort is part of AFRL’s broader rocket cargo initiative, which envisions using commercial launch systems like airlines are used today — on-demand, service-based contracts that could deliver military cargo anywhere on Earth in under an hour. Potential missions include emergency supply deliveries to conflict zones or humanitarian aid during natural disasters.

For Blue Origin, the AFRL award is its first contract supporting rocket cargo. The company in 2021 signed a cooperative agreement with U.S. Transportation Command to study the feasibility of rocket-powered logistics. Anduril is entering the program for the first time with this award.

Blue Origin, founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, develops reusable rockets and spacecraft for commercial launches, lunar landers and crewed spaceflight.

REGAL, launched in 2021, has become AFRL’s primary channel for testing commercial proposals in this space. Sierra Space won a REGAL award in October 2024, and Rocket Lab followed in May 2025.

The Pentagon has long been interested in point-to-point rocket transport, but cost, safety and infrastructure challenges have kept the concept experimental. AFRL officials say the goal is not to build and own rockets but to leverage commercial providers as the technology matures, similar to how NASA buys space transport services from private companies.