Aviation Week reports that the U.S. Navy “is buying two Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) with sensor and weapon payloads as the service is developing its plans for future uncrewed autonomous aircraft.” The Pentagon “announced the $15.5 million cost-plus fixed-fee contract on Dec. 30.”
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Tag: Kratos
Kratos to Develop Hypersonic Testing Capabilities for Pentagon
Space News reports, “Defense contractor Kratos Defense & Security Solutions won a $1.45 billion contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop testing capabilities for hypersonic weapons, marking one of the Pentagon’s largest-ever investments in hypersonic testing infrastructure. The five-year contract, announced Jan. 6, will support the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) program, which aims to accelerate the development of weapons that travel at speeds exceeding Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound.”
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Boom Supersonic to Partner with Kratos on Engines for its Jets
Reuters reports, “Boom Supersonic charted plans on Tuesday to develop an engine for its jets in partnership with a unit of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions after a snub from legacy civil engine makers left the U.S. startup with few options.” The company “also outlined deals with GE Additive and maintenance, repair & overhaul firm StandardAero.”
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Kratos Completes First Flight of Thanatos UCAV
Aviation Week reports, “Kratos Defense and Security recently completed the first flight of its Thanatos stealthy uncrewed combat air vehicle, proving out the aircraft’s basic design as the company now focuses on flying a fully integrated system. Steve Fendley, president of Kratos’ Unmanned Systems Division, tells Aviation Week the company hopes to learn more about the system as it evolves over the next 6-12 months. The company would not say when the first flight occurred, just that it was within the past several months.”
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US Marine Corps Plans for Two More XQ-58A Test Flights Before Year-end
Flight Global reports the US Marine Corps will conduct two more test flights with the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie “before year-end to continue assessing the potential of so-called manned-unmanned teaming for ‘electronic warfare, autonomous missions and survivability’ applications.”
Full Story (Flight Global)