{
 "slug": "airbus-kratos-u740-valkyrie-first-flight-europe-rocket-assisted-mach-0-8-cca-2029",
 "title": "Airbus and Kratos Fly the U740 Valkyrie in Europe — Rocket-Assisted Launch to Mach 0.8, Combat-Ready CCA by 2029",
 "url": "https://www.grosswald.org/airbus-kratos-u740-valkyrie-first-flight-europe-rocket-assisted-mach-0-8-cca-2029/",
 "canonical": "https://www.grosswald.org/airbus-kratos-u740-valkyrie-first-flight-europe-rocket-assisted-mach-0-8-cca-2029/",
 "type": "dispatch",
 "published": "2026-10-12T19:56:00.000+02:00",
 "updated": "2026-10-15T19:56:45.000+02:00",
 "excerpt": "\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTaufkirchen, 12 October 2026\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKey points\n\n\n * 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\n * 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 s",
 "countries": [
  "germany"
 ],
 "domains": [
  "industry"
 ],
 "capabilities": [
  "uncrewed-autonomy"
 ],
 "tags": [
  "defense-industry",
  "drones-uav",
  "dez-german-defense-zeitenwende"
 ],
 "sources": [],
 "entities": [
  "airbus",
  "bundeswehr",
  "germany",
  "helsing",
  "nato",
  "rheinmetall"
 ],
 "inferred": {
  "countries": [
   "germany"
  ],
  "domains": [
   "alliance-policy",
   "industry"
  ],
  "capabilities": []
 }
}