Airbus is preparing two uncrewed Kratos Valkyrie combat aircraft for their first flight with a European mission system, as it works toward delivering an operational loyal wingman capability to the German Air Force by 2029.
The two aircraft are being fitted with Airbus’s sovereign Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure (MARS) mission system at the company’s facility in Manching, near Munich, and are scheduled to fly later this year. The Valkyrie airframe first flew in the USA in 2019 and has been in regular flight testing since.
MARS includes an AI-supported software system called MindShare, which replaces the pilot and is capable of coordinating entire mission groups by being distributed across multiple crewed and uncrewed platforms.
Marco Gumbrecht, head of key account Germany at Airbus Defence and Space, 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.
“Our objective is to deliver credible combat capability 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 Valkyrie has a length of 30ft (9.1m), a wingspan of 27ft (8.2m) and a range of more than 3,100 miles (5,000km). Maximum take-off weight is around 6,600 lb (3,000kg) and the aircraft can operate at altitudes up to 45,000ft. Fully autonomous or commanded by a Eurofighter, it will be able to take on mission tasks that would pose too great a danger to a pilot.
To enable the Eurofighter to act as a command aircraft, Airbus and Rafael are enhancing the Litening 5 Advanced Targeting Pod, already contracted for the Eurofighter fleet, with a connectivity capability. Along with updates to the Eurofighter’s avionics, these enhancements are intended to increase the aircraft’s effectiveness in combat.
Steve Fendley, president of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, said, “By taking the flight-proven and in-production Valkyrie and integrating the Airbus MARS mission system, the Airbus-missionized Valkyrie UCCA is a multi-mission, affordable system that can operate independently, in teams of UAS, or in Manned-Unmanned-Teaming operations.”
The Airbus program is part of a growing global push toward uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft (UCCA). In the USA, the Air Force flew the General Atomics YFQ-42A for the first time last year as part of its broader Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, while Collins Aerospace’s Sidekick autonomy software was recently tested aboard the same platform.
The technology behind these programs, including AI-driven autonomous flight and manned-unmanned teaming, is explored in depth in ATI’s recent feature on CCA testing.
