Airbus and Kratos Complete First European U740-Valkyrie Flight, Target Combat Readiness by 2029

Airbus (USOTC:EADSF) and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ:KTOS) have completed the first European flight of the U740-Valkyrie uncrewed aircraft, marking a development milestone in their programme to deliver a combat-ready Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) by 2029.

The test flight took place at a facility in Northern Europe and achieved all planned objectives, according to a joint statement from the companies.

The aircraft completed a rocket-assisted take-off without requiring a runway, performed manoeuvres at different altitudes and reached speeds of up to Mach 0.8. The flight also demonstrated the ability to adjust mission parameters while airborne.

Airbus and Kratos said the results keep the programme on schedule to develop an operational CCA system intended to meet the requirements of the German armed forces and other European military operators.

The project combines Kratos’ Valkyrie aircraft platform with a European mission management system being developed by Airbus Defence and Space.

Known as MARS, or Multi-platform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure, the system is designed to manage the aircraft’s software, mission applications, data and hardware.

MARS incorporates AI-enhanced software intended to enable autonomous mission execution while retaining human oversight of operational decisions.

Mike Schoellhorn, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Defence and Space, said the programme aims to address demand for additional combat capabilities at a lower cost than conventional crewed aircraft.

“In an increasingly complex and contested threat environment, air forces require affordable combat mass,” Schoellhorn said. “By pairing Kratos’ proven airframe with Airbus’ sovereign European mission system, we are able to offer a robust, sovereign, affordable, and combat-ready CCA system by the end of the decade.”

Kratos President and Chief Executive Officer Eric DeMarco attributed the successful initial European flight to the maturity of the aircraft platform and cooperation between the two development teams.

“First flights typically include plenty of learning opportunities, but with the maturity of the Valkyrie system and the well-integrated Airbus and Kratos team, this flight was an amazing success,” DeMarco said.

The companies plan to integrate the MARS mission system into subsequent flight tests as development progresses towards the targeted 2029 operational capability.

The U740-Valkyrie is also being developed to operate alongside crewed military aircraft, including the Eurofighter, as part of a broader approach to combining autonomous and piloted platforms in future air operations.

The successful flight represents an initial European testing milestone, with further evaluation and systems integration required before the aircraft reaches its planned combat-ready configuration.

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