Airbus Defence and House has fashioned an alliance with Kratos Protection & Safety Options (Kratos) to combine an Airbus-developed mission system into the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie, an uncrewed collaborative fight plane.
In line with Airbus, it has developed a mission system, through its “platform-agnostic system structure”, supposed to combine easily with the Valkyrie in addition to different crewed and uncrewed platforms at the moment in use or in improvement.
Airbus Defence and House CEO Mike Schoellhorn mentioned: “The collaboration of Kratos and Airbus, primarily based on an present and confirmed UAS platform and that includes a sovereign multi-platform mission system, will ship essential capabilities for our warfighters in Europe earlier than the tip of the last decade. This partnership will assist to speed up Europe’s means to defend itself whereas fostering Nato’s transatlantic ties.”
Kratos’ XQ-58A, characterised by its stealth capabilities and rail-launch mechanism, is constructed to fly at high-subsonic velocity for lengthy vary.
The drones, at the moment being manufactured in Oklahoma Metropolis, has a most take-off weight of three tons. The prototype can cowl 3,000 miles at altitudes reaching 45,000ft.
It’s designed for versatility, able to executing each kinetic and non-kinetic missions autonomously or along with different fighter jets geared up for workforce operations.
Kratos CEO Eric DeMarco mentioned: “Now we have designed the Valkyrie system to be an inexpensive and formidable CCA paired in collaborative trend with manned plane, a workforce of uncrewed plane, or a mixture of each.
“Based mostly on Valkyrie’s confirmed flight functionality, first demonstrated in 2019, and the numerous mission methods, autonomy methods, and mission situations examined with the system over time, we’re enthusiastic about our partnership with Airbus which can consequence once more in a primary to market Valkyrie variant, now “tuned” for the European mission.”
Earlier in July 2025, a coaching train at Eglin Air Power Base in Florida showcased USAF pilots working F-16C Preventing Falcons and F-15E Strike Eagles whereas concurrently directing a pair of XQ-58A Valkyrie drones throughout a mock air fight state of affairs.
The partnership seeks to supply a “fight prepared” drone to the German Air Power (Luftwaffe) by 2029.
Lasty yr, Airbus introduced its new “Wingman” idea on the Worldwide Aerospace Exhibition (ILA) in Berlin.
Airbus mentioned that the “Wingman” is a “fighter-type drone”. Will probably be managed by a pilot aboard a present fight plane, such because the Eurofighter, and is designed to undertake “high-risk missions” that current higher risks to crewed plane.
At the moment, Airbus Defence and House CEO Michael Schoellhorn mentioned: “The German Air Power has expressed a transparent want for an unmanned plane flying with and supporting missions of its manned fighter jets earlier than the Future Fight Air System will likely be operational in 2040.
“Our Wingman idea is the reply. We’ll additional drive and fine-tune this innovation made in Germany in order that in the end we are able to supply the German Air Power an inexpensive resolution with the efficiency it must maximise the results and multiply the ability of its fighter fleet for the 2030s.”
