The Aegis Readiness Assessment Vehicle Type B was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on August 6. The event raised the system’s record to 43 successful target missions, according to Kratos.
Pacific Dragon took place from August 6 to 15 in waters around the Hawaiian Islands. The U.S. 3rd Fleet led the event in coordination with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
Forces from Australia, Chile, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Spain and the United States participated. The activity combined missile-defense operations with tactical data-link information sharing across the multinational force.
The training was designed to improve allied capacity to detect, track and intercept ballistic missiles in a coordinated operation. Kratos supplied the ARAV-B as a configurable target representing short- and medium-range threats.
ARAV-B is a two-stage, spin-stabilized vehicle equipped with the company’s commercial Oriole rocket motor as its upper stage. Previous missions have supported the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s Port Hueneme Division, White Sands Detachment and the Missile Defense Agency.
“The successful launch of our ARAV-B target during Pacific Dragon 2026 highlights our team’s ability to rapidly develop and field affordable, threat-representative systems,” said Dave Carter, president of Kratos’ Defense & Rocket Support Services division. “By providing highly reliable target solutions, we ensure that advanced combat systems, such as the Baseline 10 and AN/SPY-6 radar on the USS Jack H. Lucas, are tested against the most realistic and demanding scenarios possible.”
The wider ARAV family includes the two-stage Type C and three-stage Terrier-Terrier-Oriole configurations. The modular vehicles can be adapted for different trajectories, including low-apogee and long-duration hypersonic tests at speeds above Mach 10.
Kratos also develops the larger Zeus rocket family and the Erinyes hypersonic testbed vehicle. These systems form part of the company’s internally funded approach to bringing test and operational hardware to government customers.
“At Kratos, we are focused on delivering real, mission-relevant products and systems to our customers, not PowerPoints or concepts,” said Eric DeMarco, president and chief executive officer of Kratos. “By integrating existing assets and proven technologies, Kratos is first to market with cost-effective solutions that save our government customers and the U.S. taxpayer significant time and money.”
