Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division
Kratos is proud to display our latest technologies across our family of tactical and target drones and is proud to provide an opportunity for Miramar’s attendees to see these systems—rarely available for public viewing—in person.
Kratos and Uncrewed Air Systems
Kratos’ affordable, high-performance jet aircraft represents the future of uncrewed air systems. Kratos offers existing, flying solutions for the production, deployment, and engagement of affordable tactical UAS mass for America’s defense. Kratos’ unique approach and portfolio of in-production UAVs directly align with the DoD’s most recent technology, strategy, and affordability thrusts by delivering systems well within prescribed cost thresholds that can deploy and operate from the most remote regions around the world.
The broad application set of Kratos’ affordable family of UAVs, combined with the speed at which they can be produced, modified, and reconfigured, fulfills the high utility-to-cost ratio—especially compared to other platforms in the unmanned space.
Kratos’ tactical family, intended for operational military missions such as strike, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, radio frequency, and communications, includes the XQ-58 Valkyrie, UTAP-22 Mako, and Tactical Firejet. Kratos’ target family, engaged to support and hone military training and defense system development, includes the MQM-178 Firejet, BQM-177, and BQM-167.
The XQ-58 Valkyrie, Kratos’ high-performance tactical UAS, capable of long-range flights at high-subsonic speeds, is currently in production in Oklahoma and under contract with multiple DoD customers—including the U.S. Marine Corps.
Flying since 2019, Valkyrie delivers a combination of affordability, survivability, long-range, high-subsonic speeds, and maneuverability, plus flexible mission kit configurations and an ability to deliver a mix of lethal weapons from its internal bomb bay and wing stations. With design and production approaches leveraged and evolved from Kratos’ target aircraft family, Valkyrie is in the high performance-capability but attritable cost class—another key discriminator.
With the Marines, the XQ-58 is providing new capability and strengthening assault support platforms under the Penetrating Affordable Autonomous Collaborative Killer program.
Flying since 2015, the UTAP-22 Mako is a fighter-like UAV in the expendable cost class capable of collaborative operations in contested environments with other drones or manned assets. Rocket-assisted launch and precision-parachute recovery allow for extreme flexibility with a minimal footprint, and Mako’s versatile design supports various mission requirements by accepting a wide array of internal and external payloads.
At the high-performance end of the low-cost/affordable UAV market, Kratos’ Firejet delivers fighter-like performance and versatility for both tactical and target missions. Kratos’ Firejet enables customers to train personnel and test multiple weapon systems with a single flexible, incredibly affordable, high-performance platform. In its tactical configuration, Firejet offers similar affordable deployment and flight performance capability—enabling it to carry variety of operational mission systems on a physically smaller, even less costly scale than its Kratos siblings.
Kratos at the Air Show
Other target systems on display at Miramar include the BQM-177A, the U.S. Navy’s next-generation Sub-Sonic Aerial Target (SSAT), and the BQM-167, the Air Force Subscale Aerial Target (AFSAT)—the only such platform operated by USAF, as well as the U.S. Army and international allies. Both affordable platforms provide unmatched performance capabilities and formidable threat emulation.
Related Links:
- Top Exhibits to See in the Innovation and Tech Expo
- What to Expect in the Innovation and Tech Expo
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