Airbus and Kratos Fly the U740 Valkyrie in Europe — Rocket-Assisted Launch to Mach 0.8, Combat-Ready CCA by 2029
Taufkirchen, 12 October 2026
Key points
- Airbus Defence and Space and Kratos announced on 12 October the first flight in Europe of the U740 Valkyrie uncrewed combat aircraft, at a test facility in northern Europe: a runway-independent rocket-assisted take-off, manoeuvres at various altitudes and speeds up to Mach 0.8, and in-flight mission adjustments
- The airframe is 9.1 metres long with an 8.2-metre span and an internal weapons bay, about three tonnes at take-off, with a stated range above 5,000 kilometres and a ceiling of 45,000 feet
- Airbus says the flight confirms it is "on track to deliver a combat-ready uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) by 2029" for the German and other European armed forces, and paves the way for flights with its MARS mission system
- No Bundeswehr contract exists; Airbus competes with Rheinmetall and Helsing for the German requirement
The first Valkyrie flown in Europe has gone up without the European mission system that is meant to make it a German aircraft.
In March Airbus said it was preparing two Valkyries for a first flight with a European mission system in 2026, and at ILA in June it aimed at an operational, sovereign uncrewed combat aircraft for the Luftwaffe by 2029, on the two airframes it brought to Manching. The European flight carried no tactical mission profile and reached about 30,000 feet, by trade reporting; the first increment of MARS is to be fitted for the next flight test in mid-2027, and Airbus aims at a weapons release in 2028, dependent on a contract. Michael Schoellhorn, head of Airbus Defence and Space, put the date as "by the end of the decade".
2029 is now Airbus's offer date, not the customer's programme date. Internal defence-ministry papers reported in July put an initial capability in 2029 out of reach, with a delay of several years and a NATO contribution by 2035 at the latest. In August a first buy of about twelve aircraft before the end of the decade, for which Rheinmetall had positioned the MQ-28, was reported as possibly cancelled in favour of an open competition among Rheinmetall, Airbus and Helsing. Signal No. 165 carried Airbus's restated date with that record behind it. What will show which date holds is the small study contract Airbus expects this year: whether it is awarded by December, and whether it names a fielding date at all.
Related · Uncrewed combat aircraft for the Luftwaffe
