Airbus U740 Valkyrie Uncrewed Combat Aircraft Takes off for First European Test Flight
The debut paves the way for further flight tests with Airbus’ MARS autonomous mission system.
Sentiment and the balance of points
Rhea-AI Sentiment reads the wording of the document, how positive or negative its language is on a 1 to 5 scale. The balance of points shown with the takes weighs what the document actually discloses, so the two can disagree, for example when a trial that missed its main goal is described in upbeat language.
Rhea-AI Summary
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS) and Airbus completed the U740-Valkyrie uncrewed combat aircraft’s first European test flight. Conducted at a Northern European test facility, the flight achieved all objectives, including rocket-assisted take-off without a runway, maneuvers at various altitudes and speeds up to Mach 0.8, and in-flight mission adjustments.
The companies said they remain on track to deliver a combat-ready collaborative combat aircraft by 2029 to address German and other European armed forces’ operational requirements.
Positive
- Minor pointFirst European U740-Valkyrie flight completed successfully with all test objectives achieved.
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Combat-ready aircraft delivery by 2029 remains on track, the companies said.
- Minor point. Forward-looking: it has not happened yet and may not happen.Further flight tests are planned with Airbus’ MARS mission system.
Negative
- None.
Key Figures
- Combat-ready aircraft target
- by 2029
- Airbus and Kratos stated they were on track to deliver the CCA
- Test-flight speed
- up to Mach 0.8
- Maximum speed reached during the first European flight
- Maximum take-off weight
- over 6,000 lbs
- U740 Valkyrie specification
- Range
- exceeding 3,000 miles
- U740 Valkyrie specification
- Service ceiling
- 45,000 feet
- U740 Valkyrie specification
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
SAN DIEGO, Oct. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., (NASDAQ: KTOS) a technology company in the defense, national security and global markets, and Airbus announced the successful completion of the first flight of the “U740-Valkyrie” in Europe. This key milestone confirms that Airbus and Kratos are on track to deliver a combat-ready uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) by 2029, addressing the operational requirements of the German and other European Armed Forces.
Conducted at a test facility in Northern Europe, the flight achieved all objectives, including a runway-independent rocket-assisted take-off, maneuvers at various altitudes and speeds up to Mach 0.8, and in-flight mission adjustments. This debut paves the way for subsequent, more sophisticated flight tests with Airbus’ Multi-platform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure (MARS) mission system. Serving as the aircraft’s “European brain” and ensuring full control over software as well as mission applications, data and system hardware, MARS enables national German or European sovereignty from operational usage of the Valkyrie. MARS utilizes AI-enhanced software to conduct missions autonomously and coordinate entire mission groups. A strict control hierarchy ensures a human remains on the loop, guaranteeing all critical decisions comply with established rules of engagement, as well as ethical and legal standards.
“In an increasingly complex and contested threat environment, air forces require affordable combat mass today,” said Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defence and Space. “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. The Valkyrie will also play a critical role in enhancing crewed combat aircraft such as the Eurofighter with extended range, firepower, and survivability. The aircraft design enables operational resilience through its rail launch capability, while offering conventional, runway based, take-off and landing as an option.”
“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,” said Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos. “We’re proud to be partnering with Airbus on the CCA opportunities in Germany and other parts of the world. Combining the strengths of Kratos and Airbus enables the affordable Valkyrie system and Kratos’ CCA and drone manufacturing legacy to evolve with MARS and Airbus’ other high-capability subsystems, experience, and extensive knowledge across the full aerospace spectrum.”
The Airbus U740 takes off for its first flight in Europe - Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2026
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/87613527-0c46-44e0-8dbb-3edf3c324dec
About the U740 Valkyrie
With a length of 30 feet and a wingspan of 27 feet, the Valkyrie features an internal weapons bay for air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions. It has a maximum take-off weight of over 6,000 lbs, a range exceeding 3,000 miles, and a service ceiling of 45,000 feet. The U740 Valkyrie is engineered to operate autonomously or under the command of crewed fighters, such as the Eurofighter, to execute high-risk missions and protect crewed assets.
About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology, products, system and software company addressing the defense, national security, and commercial markets. Kratos makes true internally funded research, development, capital and other investments, to rapidly develop, produce and field solutions that address our customers’ mission critical needs and requirements. At Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we seek to utilize proven, leading-edge approaches and technology, not unproven bleeding edge approaches or technology, with Kratos’ approach designed to reduce cost, schedule and risk, enabling us to be first to market with cost effective solutions. We believe that Kratos is known as an innovative disruptive change agent in the industry, a company that is an expert in designing products and systems up front for successful rapid, large quantity, low-cost future manufacturing which is a value-add competitive differentiator for our large traditional prime system integrator partners and also to our government and commercial customers. Kratos intends to pursue program and contract opportunities as the prime or lead contractor when we believe that our probability of win (PWin) is high and any investment required by Kratos is within our capital resource comfort level. We intend to partner and team with a large, traditional system integrator when our assessment of PWin is greater or required investment is beyond Kratos’ comfort level. Kratos’ primary business areas include virtualized ground systems for satellites and space vehicles including software for command & control (C2) and telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C), jet powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles and rocket systems, propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, space craft and launch systems, C5ISR and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, satellite, counter UAS, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual & augmented reality training systems for the warfighter. For more information, visit www.KratosDefense.com and follow Kratos on LinkedIn and X.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Kratos and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Kratos undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Kratos believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Kratos in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Kratos for the year ended December 28, 2025, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by Kratos.
Press Contact:
Claire Cantrell
claire.cantrell@kratosdefense.com
Investor Information:
877-934-4687
investor@kratosdefense.com
FAQ
AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
What did Kratos and Airbus achieve in the first European U740-Valkyrie flight?
The first European U740-Valkyrie flight achieved all test objectives. These included rocket-assisted take-off without a runway, maneuvers at various altitudes and speeds up to Mach 0.8, and in-flight mission adjustments at a test facility in Northern Europe.
What is Airbus’ MARS system for the Kratos U740-Valkyrie?
MARS, short for Multi-platform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure, is Airbus’ mission system for autonomous missions and coordination of mission groups. It uses AI-enhanced software and provides control over mission applications, data and system hardware. A control hierarchy keeps a human in the oversight loop for critical decisions.