Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie

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The Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie is an experimental stealthy unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) designed and built by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions for the United States Air Force’s Low Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator (LCASD) program, under the USAF Research Laboratory’s Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology (LCAAT) project portfolio. It was initially designated the XQ-222. The Valkyrie completed its first flight on 5 March 2019 at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona.

Development and design #

A XQ-58 Valkyrie deploys an Altius-600 unmanned aircraft system
The XQ-58 Valkyrie falls within the USAF Research Laboratory’s Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology (LCAAT) portfolio, whose objectives include designing and building unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) faster by developing better design tools and maturing and using commercial manufacturing processes to reduce production time and cost. The LCAAT is to escort the F-22 or F-35 during combat missions and to deploy weapons or surveillance systems.
The XQ-58 is designed to act as a loyal wingman that is controlled by a parent aircraft to accomplish tasks such as scouting, defensive fire, or absorbing enemy fire. It features stealth technology with a trapezoidal fuselage with a chined edge, V-tail, and an S-shaped air intake. The XQ-58 can operate as part of a swarm of drones, with or without direct pilot control. The XQ-58 can make conventional take-offs and landings or be launched from “nondescript launch modules”, such as support ships, shipping containers, and semi-trailer trucks.
Kratos officials have said the company could produce 250 to 500 Valkyries per year. It can be produced at a unit cost of $4 million at an annual production rate of 50 aircraft, and possibly for less than $2 million if over 100 airframes are built per year.

Operational history #

A U.S. Marine Corps XQ-58A Valkyrie
The XQ-58’s first flight took place on 5 March 2019, about two and a half years after Kratos received the contract. A total of five test flights were planned in two phases to evaluate system functionality, aerodynamic performance, and launch and recovery systems.
On 23 July 2020, the Air Force gave contracts to Kratos, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and General Atomics to compete for the Skyborg program, an effort to field an unmanned wingman for manned fighters at a price that makes it somewhat expendable. After Northrop was eliminated on 7 December 2020, Kratos, Boeing, and General Atomics delivered their entries by May 2021 for flight tests in July 2021.
On 26 March 2021, the XQ-58A completed its sixth test flight, opening the doors of its internal weapons bay for the first time and releasing a 27 lb (12 kg) Area-I Altius-600 small unmanned aircraft system (UAS).
In August 2023, a report with pictures showed the XQ-58A in formation with an F-15E Strike Eagle from the 96th Test Wing’s 40th Flight Test Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
The United States Marine Corps ordered two XQ-58s in December 2022 for testing purposes under the Marine Corps Penetrating Affordable Autonomous Collaborative Killer – Portfolio (PAACK-P) program and conducted its first test flight with them at Eglin Air Force Base on 2 October 2023. In January 2023 the United States Navy also ordered two XQ-58s for tests similar to those being undertaken by the Marines.