Kratos' Valkyrie Flies Again

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (Hall 3, Stand A132) carried out the second flight of its XQ-58A Valkyrie “loyal wingman” UAV at Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona on June 11, flying for 71 minutes and achieving all test objectives. This follows a March 5 first flight, during which it flew for 76 minutes.

These flights mark the company's progress in development of the XQ-58A for the Low-Cost Attritable Strike UAS Demonstration (LCASD) program, which it is delivering for the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) under a 2016 contract award.

Valkyrie will be a low-cost, runway-independent UAV that can fly at high subsonic speeds for missions as a loyal wingman/remote carrier. Several militaries are exploring UAVs that can fly alongside more high-value assets to act as an air defense decoy or to carry out supplementary tasks.

LCASD falls under the AFRL’s Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology (LCAAT) portfolio, which aims to help move away from the escalating cost of developing and acquiring technologies.

“With this most recent milestone, the readiness of the XQ-58A is accelerating and increasing the near-term application opportunities for the system,” said Steve Fendley, president of the U.S. company's unmanned systems division.

“I am extremely proud of our development, production, and test teams who continue to deliver successful results, in record time, on our comprehensive system-level efforts—rare within the aerospace and defense industry.”