Airbus and Kratos have completed the first European flight of the U740 Valkyrie uncrewed combat aircraft, with the demonstrator reaching Mach 0.8 during a test campaign intended to support development of a European Collaborative Combat Aircraft capability by 2029, according to Airbus.
The flight took place at a test facility in northern Europe on 29 September and included a rocket-assisted launch, manoeuvres at several altitudes and speeds, and changes to a pre-planned route while the aircraft was airborne. Airbus said all objectives for the first flight were achieved.
Speaking during a media briefing on the programme, Hendrik Zippel, Airbus Head of CCA Collaboration and Development, described the flight as “picture-perfect” and said preparations began at 6am before the aircraft was moved from its hangar to the launch position.
The Valkyrie took off at around 10.30am using rocket boosters, which separated after approximately two seconds. Zippel said the aircraft initially flew a diamond-shaped pattern before entering a longer racetrack profile used to test different flight conditions.
“We then entered into a longer racetrack pattern where we flew at several flight levels, 10,000, 20,000, 30,000 feet, with several acceleration and deceleration phases,” he said.
“We went up to 0.8 Mach, and also tried out the reconfiguration of a pre-planned route, and all of this went very successfully.”
The flight also tested the procedures required to recover the aircraft at the end of the mission, with Airbus saying the vehicle came down inside the planned recovery area. Zippel said the actual landing point was substantially inside the boundary established before the test.
The aircraft flown in September is based on Kratos’ Valkyrie platform, which Airbus intends to combine with its own Multi-platform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure mission system, known as MARS.
Airbus describes MARS as the mission-system layer that will provide control over mission applications, software, data and hardware, while adding autonomous functions and the ability to coordinate multiple aircraft. The company says a human will remain within the command hierarchy for critical decisions.
The next flight-test campaign is planned for the middle of 2027 and is expected to include the first increment of the MARS mission system integrated into the aircraft.
Zippel said: “After flight test is before the flight test. The next flight tests are planned mid of next year. We plan to then have already integrated into the birds, into the aircrafts, the first increment of our MARS mission system.”
Airbus is aiming to offer the resulting system as a Collaborative Combat Aircraft that could operate autonomously or under the direction of crewed fighters, including the Eurofighter.
According to an Airbus news update, Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space, said: “In an increasingly complex and contested threat environment, air forces require affordable combat mass.”
He added: “By pairing Kratos’ proven airframe as a ‘program of record’ with Airbus’ sovereign European mission system, we are able to offer a robust, sovereign, affordable, and combat-ready CCA system by the end of the decade.”
Airbus says the U740 Valkyrie is 9.1 metres long with a wingspan of 8.2 metres and has a maximum take-off weight of approximately three tonnes. The aircraft has an internal weapons bay as well as external payload stations beneath the wings, while the company quotes a range exceeding 5,000 kilometres and a service ceiling of 45,000 feet.
The aircraft can use rocket-assisted launch equipment rather than depending on a conventional runway, although Airbus says runway take-off and landing remain available as an alternative. The company sees that flexibility as a way of dispersing uncrewed combat aircraft away from established airbases.
Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos, said: “First flights typically include plenty of learning opportunities, but with the maturity of the Valkyrie system and the well-integrated Airbus and Kratos team, this flight was an amazing success.”
Airbus and Kratos are now moving towards more complex flight testing in which the European mission system will begin to be introduced into the aircraft, with the companies continuing to target a combat-ready CCA capability by 2029.
