Heaviside Tyr

History

Heaviside Industries was founded in 2024 in Los Angeles as a US-Norwegian startup developing autonomous precision munitions for U.S. and allied special operations and conventional forces. While the company's headquarters and most of its staff remain in Los Angeles, the majority of Tyr's engineering, development, and testing is conducted in Norway, where the company's facility is located near its key partner, Norwegian defense firm Nammo. The company is venture-capital funded.

The Tyr, named after the Norse god of justice and war, was publicly unveiled at the Association of the United States Army's Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, D.C., on 12 October 2026. It is the first product in Heaviside's precision munitions line. The system has completed live-fire testing, including successful flights to and detonation on targets in Norwegian winter conditions of 20 degrees below zero, and is under contract with Department of War customers. Heaviside president Nils Haagenrud noted that key staff bring decades of drone development experience, including his own work on the Black Hornet micro-drone at Teledyne FLIR.

Specifications

The Tyr is a fixed-wing, man-portable loitering munition. The airframe weighs just over 5 lb (2.3 kg); the total system, including a reusable launcher, weighs approximately 15 lb (6.8 kg). The wingspan is approximately 39.5 in (100.3 cm) and the total system length is about 31 in (78.7 cm). The wings are detachable and house the batteries, facilitating single-soldier carriage. The system maintains a low acoustic and visual signature.

Tyr offers more than 60 minutes of flight time, a range exceeding 25 mi (40 km), and a speed of more than 150 mph (241 km/h). Heaviside states the unit price is well under $100,000, with extensive use of commercial off-the-shelf components to reduce cost and supply-chain dependence.

The munition carries one of four Nammo warhead variants, all derived from the company's M72 LAW series: Shaped Charge Anti-Tank, Anti-Structure Munition, Explosively Formed Penetrator, and Anti-Personnel Frag. The warhead represents roughly one-third of the total system weight and is stated to have sufficient explosive power to defeat main battle tanks such as the T-72 or T-80.

Operational characteristics

Tyr is designed to operate in contested and GPS-denied environments using in-house dual-band radios. If communications are lost, operators can choose to wave off the strike, continue the mission, land the vehicle in a safe zone, or destroy it. The system employs computer vision with electro-optical and infrared sensor fusion to autonomously navigate to a human-designated strike zone, identify recognizable targets such as tanks, and request operator permission before engaging. A human in the loop makes the final engagement decision.

Tyr can be employed in ground and base defense operations, utilized as a counter-UAS system, or integrated onto larger unmanned platforms for multi-domain employment.