Airbus Valkyrie: Germany to Acquire Collaborative Combat Drone by 2029
Airbus is preparing for the first flight of two Valkyrie drones equipped with a European mission system for the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) this year, marking a significant step towards bolstering Germany’s aerial defense capabilities. The drones, acquired from Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, will integrate Airbus’s Multiplataforma Autónomo Reconfigurable y Seguro (MARS) mission system, a sovereign European development.
The collaboration between Airbus and Kratos aims to deliver a collaborative combat aircraft (UCCA) system to the Luftwaffe by 2029. According to Airbus, the Valkyrie platform has already been proven in flight, and the integration of the MARS system offers a solution to urgent defense needs without requiring a completely new, costly, and time-consuming development process. “By combining the Valkyrie from Kratos with our MARS mission system, we are offering the German customer exactly what Germany and Europe urgently need in the current geopolitical situation: an unmanned combat aircraft, already proven in flight, with a European sovereign mission system that does not have to be developed from scratch in a costly and time-consuming manner,” said Marco Gumbrecht, Key Account Manager for Germany at Airbus Defence, and Space.
The MARS system incorporates MindShare software, utilizing artificial intelligence to perform functions typically handled by a pilot and to coordinate missions across multiple manned and unmanned aircraft. This capability is intended to address scenarios where direct pilot exposure carries excessive risk.
Steve Fendley, president of the unmanned systems division at Kratos, emphasized the operational value of the platform and the strength of the partnership with Airbus. “By taking the flight-proven and already in production Valkyrie and integrating Airbus’s MARS mission system, the Airbus-adapted Valkyrie UCCA becomes an affordable and multi-mission system that can operate independently, in unmanned aerial system teams, or in combined operations with manned aircraft,” Fendley stated.
The Kratos Valkyrie has a length of 9.1 meters, a wingspan of 8.2 meters, and a range exceeding 5,000 kilometers, with a maximum takeoff weight of approximately three tons and an operational ceiling of up to 45,000 feet. The platform first flew in the United States in 2019, with subsequent units operating regularly. We see capable of carrying a combination of JDAM and GBU-39 bombs, and can transport up to 4,400 pounds (2,000 kilograms) of explosives in its internal bays.
Airbus envisions the Valkyrie operating autonomously or under the command of a Eurofighter aircraft, enhancing its versatility in high-sensitivity missions. The company is likewise collaborating with Rafael to improve the Litening 5 advanced targeting pod, already contracted for the Eurofighter fleet, by adding inter-platform connectivity. This, combined with minor avionics upgrades to the Eurofighter, aims to transform the fighter into a command aircraft capable of coordinating other assets, including unmanned systems.
The potential incorporation of the Valkyrie is part of a broader effort to strengthen the German Air Force, which includes the authorization of a potential sale of AIM-120D-3 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles for the future F-35A fighter fleet. Germany confirmed the purchase of 35 F-35A aircraft in December 2022 to replace its Panavia Tornado fleet. Lockheed Martin has begun flight tests of the first F-35A built for the Luftwaffe, and Rheinmetall has inaugurated a new facility in Weeze to produce fuselages for the German, allied, and future F-35 operators.