Unmanned combat aircraft for the Luftwaffe: Airbus and Kratos aim to make Valkyrie operational by 2029

By 2029 the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) is to receive an operational "Uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft" (UCCA) system, i.e. an unmanned combat aircraft – and Airbus is working flat out on it. The company has bought two Valkyries from its US partner Kratos Defense & Security Solutions for this purpose. In Manching near Munich they are currently being prepared for their first flight with an independent European mission system.

The flight is planned for later this year. Both companies contribute their respective expertise: the Airbus UCCA system is to be integrated, made mission-capable and ultimately produced and delivered. The UCCAs will be equipped with Airbus's independent European mission system, the Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure (MARS) system. MARS also includes Mindshare, an AI-based software brain. It not only replaces the missing pilot but, distributed across many crewed and unmanned platforms, can also coordinate entire mission groups.

Unmanned combat aircraft with a sovereign mission system

Marco Gumbrecht, Head of Key Account Germany at Airbus Defence & Space, said:

By combining the Kratos Valkyrie with our MARS mission system, we are offering the German customer exactly what Germany and Europe urgently need in the current geopolitical situation: a proven unmanned combat aircraft with a sovereign European mission system that does not have to be developed from scratch at great expense and time— Marco Gumbrecht, Head of Key Account Germany at Airbus Defence & Space

Our goal is to provide credible combat capabilities at the decisive moment while ensuring important sovereign aspects. And we are confident that we can do so at a very affordable price – which is a decisive factor for UCCAs.— Marco Gumbrecht

Steve Fendley, President of the Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, was also pleased:

We could not be more excited about this opportunity, the capabilities we are providing and the partnership with Airbus. By integrating the flight-proven, in-production Valkyrie with the Airbus MARS mission system, the Airbus-missionised Valkyrie UCCA is a cost-effective multi-mission system that can be deployed independently, in unmanned aircraft system (UAS) teams or in manned-unmanned teaming operations.— Steve Fendley, President of the Kratos Unmanned Systems Division

Together with the engineering and production support of Airbus and Kratos, we are delivering a system with optimal capabilities that can be bought and deployed as 'affordable mass' – a decisive factor identified in today's peer-to-peer war games— Steve Fendley

The Eurofighter is to serve as a "command aircraft" with cross-platform connectivity. To this end, Airbus and Rafael are adding connectivity functions to the Litening 5 Advanced Targeting Pod, already ordered for the Eurofighter fleet. Together with minor updates to the Eurofighter's avionics, these improvements are intended to significantly increase the aircraft's combat effectiveness.

With a length of 9.1 metres and a wingspan of 8.2 metres, the Kratos Valkyrie has a range of more than 5,000 kilometres. Its maximum take-off weight (MTOW) is about three tonnes, and its ceiling is up to 45,000 feet (around 13,700 metres). The Valkyrie first flew in the US in 2019; since then further aircraft have been flying regularly.

Whether fully autonomous or controlled from a Eurofighter, the Valkyrie will be able to take on sensitive missions that would be too dangerous for a pilot. Kinetic and non-kinetic missions in different roles are possible with the UCCA. For the German customer, Airbus and Kratos are initially focusing on one specific role so that credible air combat power is available on time and on target.