US Air Force testing experimental autonomous stealthy combat aerial vehicle

The US Air Force and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions recently tested the XQ-58A Valkyrie unmanned aircraft. Kratos says the tactical unmanned aerial system (UAS) mixes long-range, high-speed, and maneuverability in a single platform - operating in the low-cost attritable aircraft technology (LCAAT) project.

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The unmanned system is 30 ft. in length, with a total wingspan of 27 ft. - and has a dry weight of 2,500 lb. It'll cost $2-$3 million per aircraft, according to Kratos, with the price depending on the number of units ordered.

Kratos said the successful test flight is important as part of the US Air Force Research Laboratory's Autonomous Collaborative Enabling Technologies (ACET) portfolio. It was able to successfully land inside a designated target zone, despite a simulated loss of communications - demonstrating effective autonomous capability.

The XQ-58A Valkyrie successfully made its maiden flight in March 2019, with a second test just a few months later, while development continued to its current testing stage. Another test in 2019 crash-landed following a 90-minute flight, with high winds and the flight test recovery system failure to blame.

Interestingly, a parachute recovery support system has been included - this keeps runways open to support manned flight operations.

As noted by Eric DeMarco, president and CEO of Kratos, in a press statement:

"The USAF/Kratos Made-in-America Valkyrie is the right system, at the right price, at the right time, and we stand ready with active production lines and a family of low cost, high performance, jet drone systems to provide affordable mass to the U.S. and its Allies today. At Kratos, affordability is a technology. We are moving at the speed of relevance and are disrupting the existing defense procurement model by providing rapidly developed, innovative systems, rather than simply PowerPoints, renditions, or models with unknown ultimate cost, performance, and delivery dates to transform our country's procurement model to address today's real-world threats."

A quick look at the Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie:

Looking ahead, the USAF wants crewed-uncrewed experimentation to begin by fall 2023.