Airbus and Kratos Valkyrie completes first European flight

Airbus and Kratos say their U740 Valkyrie uncrewed combat aircraft completed its first European flight on September 29, meeting all test objectives in a trial that did not include Airbus’s MARS mission system. The aircraft took off with rocket assistance, flew at several altitudes and reached speeds of up to Mach 0.8, the companies said. Its mission was adjusted during the flight. The test took place at an undisclosed site in northern Europe. Airbus Defence and Space chief executive Mike Schoellhorn said MARS is expected to be installed for the next test flight, planned for the first quarter of 2027. Airbus describes the system as the aircraft’s European-controlled mission software and hardware, intended to manage missions and give operators control over data and applications. The company says human operators will retain oversight of critical decisions. The flight is an early step in Airbus and Kratos’ effort to offer Germany and other European military customers a combat-ready collaborative combat aircraft by 2029. That remains a target, not a demonstrated operational capability.