Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc
. announced that Kratos has received a $37,771,577 award from the AFLCMC/WA Advanced Aircraft Program Executive Office for the Skyborg Delivery Order (DO) 2 contract to integrate, test, and deliver XQ-58A Valkyrie aircraft.
Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, said,
“Kratos is excited to announce the receipt of the Skyborg DO 2 contract, meeting a long-term strategic objective. The Skyborg Program, one of three USAF Vanguard Programs, is focused on expanding the envelope of the application of unmanned aircraft use, particularly with respect to Artificial Intelligence. Kratos XQ-58A has been flying since March of 2019, approximately 30 months after aircraft conception, and was designed specifically for these applications and the ability to support missions from ISR to Strike in manned-unmanned teaming scenarios or in unmanned only mission sets. These capabilities are intended to substantially increase the effectiveness of our country’s military mission sets, while at the same time reducing risk to the exquisite assets and manned elements—saving resources and, most importantly, lives.”
The contract includes three phases of design, integration, and flight testing of the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie system, integrating multiple customer-defined mission payloads and customer-defined autonomy in coordination/cooperation with the Skyborg System Design Agent company, Leidos. Kratos currently works in partnership with Leidos’ Dynetics on the Gremlins Program.
Source: Press Release