Defense: Airbus and Kratos announce the first flight of their collaborative combat drone, the Valkyrie

“On track to deliver an unmanned Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) by 2029, meeting the operational needs of the German and European armed forces.” Airbus, in partnership with the American drone manufacturer Kratos, announced this Monday that it had successfully completed the first flight of the “U740-Valkyrie” drone in Europe on September 29.

With a length of 9.1 meters and a wingspan of 8.2 meters, the Valkyrie looks more like a small unmanned fighter plane than a drone. It is also intended to accompany fighter planes, such as the Eurofighter, in their missions, even if it can also be operated autonomously.

Carried out on a test site in Northern Europe, the test flight “achieved all its objectives”, assures the manufacturer. In particular that of autonomous rocket-assisted takeoff, then those of maneuvers at different altitudes and speeds up to Mach 0.8, as well as mission adjustments in flight. “This first flight paves the way for subsequent, more sophisticated flight tests with Airbus’ Multi-platform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure (Mars) Mission System.”

Range of action of 5,000 kilometers

The true “European brain” of the device, “Mars ensures total control of software, mission applications, data and hardware, thus guaranteeing German or European national sovereignty during the operational use of the Valkyrie,” explains Airbus. Mars also uses software with artificial intelligence to conduct missions autonomously and coordinate entire mission groups.

With a maximum takeoff weight of around three tonnes, the Valkyrie has a range of more than 5,000 kilometers. Its operational ceiling reaches 45,000 feet (a little over 13,000 meters). Mike Schoellhorn, CEO of Airbus Defense and Space, put the cost of the Valkyrie at around 20 million euros, and estimated Germany's total requirements at around 500 collaborative unmanned combat aircraft (CCA).