Kratos and U.S. Army Integrate Kratos J85 Engine into Kratos Firejet Drone System
Rhea-AI Summary
Kratos (NASDAQ: KTOS) completed initial flights of the J85-engine Firejet (Mk1), adding a higher-performance variant to its Firejet family on April 21, 2026. The J85 Mk1 increases range, endurance, speed and climb rate while targeting a sub-$500,000 tactical jet UAS price point.
Kratos says Spartan engine production began in late 2025, with production rates expected in the thousands later in 2026 and tens of thousands over the next few years to meet recapitalization demand.
Positive
- First-to-market tactical jet UAS in the high-performance, sub-$500,000 class
- Engine production ramp at Spartan facility: thousands later in 2026, tens of thousands over coming years
- Performance upgrade—increased range, endurance, speed and climb rate for Mk1 Firejet
Negative
- None.
News Market Reaction – KTOS
In the Apr 21 session, KTOS declined 1.83%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 08 | Major USSF contract | Positive | +3.5% | Won prime role on US Space Force GMI effort worth up to $446.8M. |
| Mar 26 | Navy rocket contract | Positive | -5.2% | Award for Oriole rocket motors and TVC kits totaling about $49.2M potential. |
| Mar 25 | Board appointment | Positive | -5.2% | Added experienced aerospace and defense executive David King to Board. |
| Mar 23 | 5G NTN partnership | Positive | -1.1% | Selected by SKY Perfect JSAT for OpenSpace 5G NTN ground architecture. |
| Mar 13 | Valkyrie integration | Positive | -2.2% | Preparing two Valkyries with Airbus MARS system for German Air Force use. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
Recent history shows multiple positive contract and partnership wins but a tendency toward negative next-day price reactions after such announcements.
Over the last few months, Kratos has reported several notable developments, including a $446.8 million U.S. Space Force Ground Management & Integration award on Apr 8, 2026 and a Navy Oriole rocket motor contract with up to $49.2 million potential value on Mar 26, 2026. It also added David King to the Board, was chosen by SKY Perfect JSAT for a 5G NTN ground system, and progressed its Valkyrie program with Airbus. Despite generally positive operational news, four of the last five events saw negative 24-hour price reactions.
Key Terms
unmanned aerial system technical
uas technical
infrared (ir) technical
subsonic technical
high-g maneuverability technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
New, Leading Technology Engine Configuration of Firejet is First-to-Market Tactical Jet UAS in the High-Performance, Affordable sub-
SAN DIEGO, April 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS), a leader in defense, national security and global markets, today announces that it has completed the initial flight series of the Kratos J85 engine version of the Firejet unmanned aerial system (UAS), dubbed Mk1 Firejet. This second major configuration of the Firejet enables users/customers to select the model that best suits their operational requirements. With the new J85 engine configuration, the Firejet takes a major step forward in the aero-performance category for customers who need the extra performance.
Classic Firejet, the baseline Firejet target system, supports key missions for the U.S. Army Target Systems Management Office (TSMO) at a high level of aerodynamic performance. Flying since the early 2010s with JetCat engines, Classic Firejet has evolved and been adapted to meet the customer performance and threat representation requirements over time. In addition to the U.S. Army operating the Classic Firejet, ally countries around the world operate the Classic Firejet, most recently including Taiwan, which has selected the Tactical Firejet named Mighty Hornet IV for their configuration.
With the new Kratos Spartan engine production facility established in late 2025, production is ramping up for the J85 and other Spartan engine models. Production rates are expected to be in the thousands by later this year and tens of thousands over the next few years meeting the demand for recapitalization which is becoming even more important this year with depletion of U.S. and ally inventories.
Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems, said, “Kratos is committed to developing and providing threat-representative target aircraft systems and to offering survivable tactical UAS. With this new version of the Firejet in both target or tactical applications, we increase range, endurance, speed, and climb rate without penalizing survivability. Importantly, we also reduce supply chain risk by using an American-made Kratos engine with engine components sourced in the U.S.A. With the two Firejet models, Mk1 and Classic Firejet, we can now meet the cost-performance levels aligned with various customers’ needs.”
Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos, said, “With our rapid advancement and in production, military-grade jet engines, Kratos is making internal investments to answer the Department of War’s call to industry to deliver affordable, high performance, military capability today. Kratos has invested significant internal resources and together with Army TSMO, have integrated a leading technology engine with the Firejet jet drone system. In addition to the increased performance as a target, this engine configuration of Firejet is first-to-market as a CCA type, tactical jet UAS, in the high-performance, sub-
At the high-performance end of the low-cost or affordable jet aerial target market, Kratos’ Firejet delivers unmatched fighter-like performance and versatility, representing the most lethal threats of the United States and its allies’ potential adversaries. Kratos’ Firejet provides the opportunity for customers to train their military personnel and to test multiple weapon systems with a single flexible and affordable high performance unmanned aerial target drone system. The Firejet supports both surface-to-air and air-to-air engagements with a combination of internal and external mission kits including tow targets, proximity scoring, passive & active RF augmentation, and infrared (IR) augmentation.
Additionally, the Tactical Firejet, a variant of the baseline Firejet developed in response to recent years’ world events and configured to enable and perform key tactical drone operations, rather than use for target missions, maintains key Kratos platform features, including high subsonic speed, high-g maneuverability, optimized performance-per-cost class, and sensor/weapons capability.
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.
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
