Airbus and Kratos fly Valkyrie combat drone in first European test

Airbus has completed a first test flight of the Valkyrie uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft built by Kratos. The sortie took place at an undisclosed site in northern Europe on 29 September.

The 3t-class vehicle was launched from a rail using rocket assistance. According to Hendrick Sippl, Airbus Defence & Space's head of CCA collaborations and development, the boosters separated two seconds after launch and the aircraft continued without deviations. He described the flight, its preparation and the recovery as successful.

The Valkyrie flew a diamond pattern before moving into a longer racetrack holding pattern, where it operated at several flight levels with repeated acceleration and deceleration phases. It reached 30,000ft and a maximum speed of Mach 0.8. The companies also demonstrated reconfiguring a pre-planned route while the aircraft was airborne.

On reaching the recovery point, a parachute and landing airbags were deployed. Sippl said the landing point fell well inside the predefined recovery area. A transport helicopter then carried the aircraft back as an underslung load, and he said it stayed stable in flight without swinging or spinning.

Sippl spoke to reporters during an online briefing on 12 October.

Airbus said the milestone confirms the two companies are on track to deliver a combat-ready uncrewed CCA by 2029, aimed at the operational requirements of the German and other European armed forces.