Kratos and GE Aerospace Sign Teaming Agreement, Expand Small Engine Portfolio with New Propulsion System
- Strategic partnership with industry leader GE Aerospace strengthens Kratos' market position
- Development of two new engines (GEK800 and GEK1500) expands product portfolio
- Partnership combines Kratos' UAS expertise with GE's mass production capabilities
- Positions both companies to capture growing unmanned systems and defense market opportunities
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Insights
Kratos-GE Aerospace partnership formalizes and expands, developing critical propulsion systems for next-gen unmanned aircraft targeting DoD priorities.
The teaming agreement between Kratos and GE Aerospace represents a strategic expansion of their existing partnership, moving beyond last year's preliminary MOU to a more concrete framework for collaborative engine development. This formalization centers on two specific propulsion systems—the GEK800 and the newly announced GEK1500—designed specifically for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA).
The partnership leverages complementary capabilities from both companies: Kratos contributes over 20 years of specialized experience in small, cost-effective engines for unmanned platforms, while GE Aerospace brings a century of propulsion expertise and critical mass-production capabilities. This combination addresses a key challenge in defense procurement—the transition from prototype to deployable systems at scale.
What makes this development particularly significant is its alignment with the Pentagon's increasing focus on affordable, attritable platforms. The emphasis on "affordability as a technology" and delivering "more capability for less cost" directly supports the Department of Defense's shift toward distributed, networked combat systems that can be deployed in quantity without prohibitive costs.
The timing is noteworthy as both the Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program and broader Joint All-Domain Command and Control initiatives gain momentum. By developing propulsion systems specifically for these applications, Kratos positions itself within a high-priority defense sector while GE Aerospace extends its propulsion portfolio into an emerging market segment.
SAN DIEGO, June 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a Technology Company in the Defense, National Security and Global Markets, and GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE) today announced a formal teaming agreement to advance propulsion technologies for the next generation of affordable unmanned aerial systems and Collaborative Combat Aircraft-type (CCA-type) aircraft.
Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos, said, “Kratos’ strategically important Teaming Agreement with GE Aerospace continues to rapidly advance and expand, with the GEK family of engines targeting certain of the most important, mission critical and highest priority needs and requirements of United States National Security. At Kratos, affordability is a technology and delivering more capability for less cost as quickly as possible are key contributions we are bringing for truly industry leading GEK offerings with our partner and global leader GE Aerospace.”
“The formalization of this teaming agreement and initiation of development of these new engines mark another step forward in our dedication to providing affordable, adaptable, high-performance propulsion systems for the future force,” said Amy Gowder, President and CEO of Defense & Systems at GE Aerospace. “We’re thrilled to continue our collaboration with Kratos and accelerate development across various classes of unmanned systems.”
This collaboration strengthens Kratos’ ongoing partnership with GE Aerospace – building on last year’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance the development and production of small, cost-effective engines for unmanned platforms. The new teaming agreement expands on that MOU and provides the framework for the two companies to develop, manufacture, test, and field the GEK800 Engine, as well as collaborate on other low-cost expendable turbofan engines.
The GEK800
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7eb9eaed-8320-4e62-be5a-195d3569535b
In addition to the joint work on the GEK800, the companies have commenced work on another new engine, the GEK1500. The engines under development support unmanned aerial systems (UAS), collaborative combat aircraft, and similar applications, positioning Kratos and GE Aerospace to offer affordable mass propulsion solutions across a range of next-generation defense applications for the Department of Defense.
Kratos brings more than 20 years of experience developing and producing small, affordable engines for UAS, drones, and missile platforms. GE Aerospace adds a century of expertise in propulsion technology and the ability to scale advanced designs into high-rate production —helping bridge the gap from prototype to deployment.
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, advanced 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.
About GE Aerospace
GE Aerospace is a global aerospace propulsion, services, and systems leader with an installed base of approximately 45,000 commercial and 25,000 military aircraft engines. With a global team of approximately 53,000 employees building on more than a century of innovation and learning, GE Aerospace is committed to inventing the future of flight, lifting people up, and bringing them home safely. Learn more about how GE Aerospace and its partners are defining flight for today, tomorrow, and the future at www.geaerospace.com.
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 29, 2024, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by Kratos.
Press Contact:
Claire Burghoff
claire.burghoff@kratosdefense.com
Investor Information:
877-934-4687
investor@kratosdefense.com
FAQ
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