Airbus and Kratos complete first European flight of U740-Valkyrie

Airbus Group (OTC: EADSY) and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS) have completed the first flight of the U740-Valkyrie uncrewed aircraft in Europe, according to a joint statement from the two companies.

The flight took place at a test facility in Northern Europe and met all stated objectives, including a rocket-assisted take-off without a runway, maneuvers at various altitudes and speeds up to Mach 0.8, and in-flight mission adjustments.

The companies said the milestone keeps them on schedule to deliver a combat-ready Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) by 2029, targeting the operational requirements of the German and other European armed forces.

Airbus is developing a mission system called MARS (Multi-platform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure) to serve as the aircraft's European control layer, managing software, mission applications, data, and hardware. The system uses AI-enhanced software to conduct missions autonomously, while maintaining a human decision-maker in the oversight role.

"In an increasingly complex and contested threat environment, air forces require affordable combat mass," said Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space. "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 CEO Eric DeMarco said the maturity of the Valkyrie system contributed to a smooth debut. "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," he said.

The companies said subsequent flight tests will incorporate the MARS mission system. The aircraft is also designed to support crewed platforms such as the Eurofighter.

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