Jane Edwards
Kratos Defense and Security Solutions and the Air Force Research Laboratory completed the sixth flight test of the company’s XQ-58A Valkyrie unmanned aerial vehicle on March 26 at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.
The test flight also demonstrated Valkyrie’s ability to release a small, unmanned aircraft system through its internal weapons bay, Kratos said Monday.
Steve Fendley, president of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, said the operation of Valkyrie’s internal weapons release system seeks to demonstrate the UAV’s capability and contributes to the 30-month development of the platform by AFRL and the company.
XQ-58A Valkyrie is a system developed by AFRL and Kratos under the Low-Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator program. The vehicle can perform long-range flights at high-subsonic speeds to support various defense missions.
“In addition to this first SUAS separation demonstration, the XQ-58A flew higher and faster than previous flights,” said Alyson Turri, demonstration program manager.
