Airbus and Kratos say their rocket-launched combat drone hit Mach 0.8 and adjusted its mission midair over northern Europe, a step toward their goal of a combat-ready aircraft for German and European forces by 2029.
Airbus and Kratos said Monday that the U.S.-built Valkyrie combat drone reached Mach 0.8 and adjusted its mission in flight during its first European test flight, which Reuters reported took place Sept. 29 over northern Europe.
The uncrewed jet, which Airbus designates the U740 Valkyrie, took off on a rocket-assisted launch that needed no runway, maneuvered at different altitudes and met all of its test objectives, Airbus and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions said in their announcements.
Reuters reported that Airbus’ European mission system had not yet been incorporated for the debut.
Why the Valkyrie test flight matters
Airbus wants to turn the American-designed collaborative combat aircraft, or CCA, into a European weapon system. CCAs are uncrewed jets designed to operate alongside piloted fighters.
“This key milestone confirms that Airbus and Kratos are on track to deliver a combat-ready uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) by 2029, addressing the operational requirements of the German and other European Armed Forces,” Airbus said in its announcement.
The 2029 date is a company goal, not a contract milestone. Neither company announced a German order.
The European upgrade centers on Airbus’ Multi-platform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure mission system, or MARS. Airbus says MARS is designed to give Europe control over the aircraft’s software, mission applications, data and hardware, and to coordinate missions with artificial intelligence under human oversight. Those are the company’s descriptions of a system still in development, not capabilities shown on the September flight.
Inside the September sortie
The companies’ announcements did not state the altitude the drone reached. FlightGlobal, in an account of an online company briefing Monday, reported that it reached 30,000 feet. That figure has not been independently confirmed.
“It was a picture-perfect flight,” Hendrick Sippl, Airbus Defence and Space’s head of CCA collaborations and development, said, according to FlightGlobal.
Sippl added: “Not only the preparation but the flight itself and the recovery were successful.”
According to FlightGlobal’s account, the boosters separated two seconds after launch. The drone then flew a diamond pattern and a longer racetrack pattern with acceleration and deceleration phases, before landing by parachute and airbag inside a predefined recovery area. A helicopter carried it away as an underslung load. The companies’ announcements did not detail that sequence, and it has not been independently confirmed.
MARS testing and Eurofighter teaming next
Reuters reported that Airbus plans to fly the next test with MARS aboard in the first quarter of 2027, followed later that year by teaming with the Eurofighter. FlightGlobal reported that a follow-on series of tests with a first version of MARS integrated is planned for mid-2027.
In a June roadmap, Airbus linked the Valkyrie to operational experimentation, an initial air-to-ground capability and Eurofighter teaming.
Sippl framed the effort as a path to a production aircraft rather than a technology demonstrator, according to FlightGlobal. He said: “All of the design work we are doing is heading for a product.”
Price tag and potential German demand
Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, estimated each aircraft would cost about 20 million euros and put Germany’s potential need at about 500 CCAs, Reuters reported. Both figures are management estimates, not contract terms.
Schoellhorn also raised the possibility of building the aircraft in Germany or elsewhere in Europe if order quantities justified it, according to Reuters. He did not announce a factory.
“We are convinced that what we are doing right now will ultimately serve the demand of the German armed forces,” Manuel Kiefer, Airbus’ sales director for NATO and Europe defence, said, according to FlightGlobal.
Kratos President and CEO Eric DeMarco said in the company’s announcement: “We’re proud to be partnering with Airbus on the CCA opportunities in Germany and other parts of the world.”
Valkyrie specifications
Kratos lists the Valkyrie at 30 feet long with a 27-foot wingspan, a maximum takeoff weight of more than 6,000 pounds, a range exceeding 3,000 miles and a 45,000-foot service ceiling. Those are published specifications, not results from the Sept. 29 flight.
Kratos describes an internal weapons bay for air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions. Airbus also lists external underwing payload stations. The companies did not report a weapons release during the September test.
Background
Airbus said in March that it was preparing two Valkyries acquired from Kratos at Manching, near Munich. The location of the September flight has not been disclosed.
Airbus introduced its own design, the U760 Ravenstorm, at the ILA Berlin air show June 9. The company says it plans the aircraft for air-to-surface strike, air-to-air defense and electronic warfare, with availability in the early 2030s.
Kiefer said the current development work on the Valkyrie platform “gives us this unique opportunity to test the [MARS] mission system, to learn from it and then add it on to Ravenstorm,” according to FlightGlobal.
The Valkyrie line first flew as the XQ-58A on March 5, 2019, at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, according to the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Key Takeaways
- Airbus and Kratos said the U.S.-built Valkyrie reached Mach 0.8 and adjusted its mission in flight during its first European test flight, which Reuters dated to Sept. 29.
- The drone used a rocket-assisted, runway-free launch; a reported 30,000-foot altitude has not been independently confirmed.
- Airbus’ MARS mission system was not aboard; Reuters reports the first MARS-equipped test is planned for the first quarter of 2027.
- Airbus targets a combat-ready CCA by 2029 for German and other European forces, but no German order has been announced.