The runway-independent Valkyrie launched from a zero-length launcher and validated its beyond line of sight communications system. Control then shifted from the Kratos ground station to an Autonomy Government Reference Architecture-compliant human-machine interface developed by Autonodyne.
A Marine Corps operator used the interface to control the Valkyrie over beyond line of sight communications during the flight. The unmanned aircraft completed the planned electronic warfare objectives alongside the F-35s and F/A-18 before returning autonomously to its recovery point.
“The Valkyrie team continues to pave the way and demonstrate critical unmanned technologies that allow the U.S. Marine Corps and our military partners to effectively close kill chains in contested environments,” said Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division. “This is the fourth new mission system configuration flown on USMC Valkyrie platforms in less than three years, each advancing deeper integration with the air vehicle, subsystems, and datalinks.”
The test placed the Valkyrie in a coordinated mission with Marine Corps F-35s while evaluating a new command-and-control configuration for the unmanned aircraft. Kratos did not state that the Valkyrie exchanged data directly with the F-35s, but said the aircraft flew together while meeting coordinated electronic warfare test objectives.
The Expeditionary Maritime Aviation-Advanced Development Team led the Integrated Test Team. Support came from a Marine Corps Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron, U.S. Naval Air Test and Evaluation Squadrons, Kratos, Northrop Grumman and Autonodyne.
The flight follows the January 2026 award of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Unmanned Expeditionary Tactical Aircraft Collaborative Combat Aircraft contract to Kratos and Northrop Grumman Mission Systems. The companies are developing Missionized Valkyrie Air Vehicle platforms with Northrop Grumman’s mission kit and Open Architecture Autonomy Software for the MUX TACAIR mission.
Kratos is also scaling production of the Valkyrie as demand grows across U.S. and international customers. Fendley said the company expects to produce more than 150 Group 5 unmanned jet aircraft this year and is moving toward annual production of about 40 Valkyries.
The first prototype MUX TACAIR Valkyrie Air Vehicle remains on track for completion in summer 2026. Kratos and Northrop Grumman said the program is intended to provide an expedited path to fielding the Marine Corps’ future unmanned tactical aircraft capability.
