Airbus and Kratos are progressing with the development of an integrated Uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (UCCA) system, targeting delivery to the German Air Force by 2029.
The companies confirmed ongoing preparations at Manching, near Munich, where Airbus is configuring two Valkyrie drones from Kratos with its sovereign European mission system, the Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure (MARS) mission system.
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Testing of these initial units will include the MARS platform, which features an AI-driven software component called MindShare.
This system replaces the need for an onboard pilot and can coordinate multiple crewed and uncrewed assets during operations.
The joint effort aims to produce and deliver the Airbus UCCA System, with first flight tests scheduled before the end of this year.
Airbus Defence and Space, key account Germany head Marco Gumbrecht said: “By combining the Kratos Valkyrie with our MARS mission system, we are offering the German customer exactly what Germany and Europe urgently need in the current geopolitical situation: a proven flying uncrewed combat aircraft with a sovereign European mission system that does not have to be developed from scratch in a time-consuming and costly manner.
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By GlobalData“Our objective is to deliver credible combat capability in time of relevance, while assuring key sovereign aspects. And we are confident that we can do this at a very affordable price – which is a key driver for UCCAs.”
The Kratos Valkyrie is designed as a tactical uncrewed aerial vehicle capable of high-subsonic speeds over long distances.
With a length of 9.1 metres (m), wingspan of 8.2m, range exceeding 5,000 kilometres, and maximum take-off weight close to three tonnes, it can operate at altitudes up to 45,000 feet.
The Valkyrie supports various mission payloads and can carry different types of weapons both internally and on its wings.
Initial flights of the Valkyrie took place in the US in 2019, with further regular flights continuing since then.
The first flight involving the Airbus-modified version is expected in 2026.
The aircraft can be controlled autonomously or directed by a Eurofighter, enabling it to undertake missions considered too risky for crewed platforms.
The UCCA is capable of performing both kinetic and non-kinetic tasks across multiple roles, however, Airbus and Kratos are currently prioritising specific combat applications to meet immediate German defence requirements.
Kratos Unmanned Systems Division president Steve Fendley said: “Along with the technical and production backing Airbus and Kratos bring, we are realising an optimal capability system that can be bought and deployed as ‘affordable mass’; the consistent discriminator identified in today’s peer to peer wargames.”
