A new jet-powered unmanned air system developed by Kratos Unmanned
Systems Division (USD) will enter production under a $23 million contract
awarded by an unidentified customer, the California-based company announced on
8 January.
Most of the work under the contract will be
completed within a year, but Kratos expects “multiple years of additional
production” of the new UAS, the company says.
Kratos confirmed the existence of a
high-performance, jet-powered UAS development programme last year, but
continued in the new announcement to offer few details, including the identity
of the customer.
“Due to customer-related, competitive and other
considerations, no additional information will be provided related to this
programme or contract award,” Kratos says.
In previous statements about the project, Kratos
chief executive Eric DeMarco has described the new UAV as capable of
high-subsonic speeds and high-g manoeuvres.
The project comes after Kratos has fielded a series
of jet-powered projects, including the UTAP-22 loyal wingman and the low-cost
XQ-222.
Kratos entered the UAS market six years ago by
acquiring Composite Engineering Inc, maker of the BQM-167 and BQM-177 series of
high-speed target drones.
“We are now completing investments on a number of
these new UAS platforms and entering production, which we expect will be key
contributors to future increases in revenue, profit, cash flow and overall
Kratos shareholder value,” DeMarco says. “We are confident that Kratos' ability
to rapidly develop, demonstrate and field technology rich, affordable systems
is a demonstrated key differentiator for our Company.”
(Evangle Luo of TTFLY shared with you)
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