Airbus and Kratos: Airbus is moving very fast to build a new kind of unmanned combat aircraft for the German Air Force. The company wants this system to be ready by 2029. Right now, work is happening in Manching near Munich. Airbus is getting two Valkyrie drones ready for their first flight. These drones were taken from its US partner Kratos Defense & Security Solutions.
These two aircraft will soon fly with a new European mission system made by Airbus. The first flight is expected later this year. Both Airbus and Kratos are working together. They are combining their skills to build, improve, and deliver this new system.
May we present? This is the Valkyrie.
Airbus is working at full throttle to offer the German Air Force an operational Uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (UCCA) system by 2029. In Manching, near Munich, the company is currently preparing the first two Valkyries it acquired… pic.twitter.com/eJ4aUpvvk4
— Airbus Defence (@AirbusDefence) March 13, 2026
Smart system with AI brain
Airbus is adding its own special system called MARS to these drones. This system is fully European and very advanced. Inside MARS there is an AI software brain called MindShare. This works like a pilot but without a human.
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This AI can control the aircraft and also manage a group of manned and unmanned systems at the same time. So it is not just flying one drone, it can guide many together during a mission.
Marco Gumbrecht from Airbus explained the idea clearly. He said, “By combining the Kratos Valkyrie with our MARS mission system, we are offering the German customer exactly what Germany and Europe urgently need in the current geopolitical situation: a proven flying uncrewed combat aircraft with a sovereign European mission system that does not have to be developed from scratch in a time-consuming and costly manner,” He also added, “Our objective is to deliver credible combat capability in time of relevance, while assuring key sovereign aspects. And we are confident that we can do this at a very affordable price – which is a key driver for UCCAs.”
Steve Fendley from Kratos also shared his thoughts. He said, “We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity, the capability we’re providing, and the teaming relationship with Airbus. By taking the flight-proven and in-production Valkyrie and integrating the Airbus MARS mission system, the Airbus-missionized Valkyrie UCCA is a multi-mission, affordable system that can operate independently, in teams of UAS, or in Manned-Unmanned-Teaming operations. Along with the technical and production backing Airbus and Kratos bring, we are realizing an optimal capability system that can be bought and deployed as affordable mass; the consistent discriminator identified in today’s peer to peer wargames.”
Feature and Upgrades
Airbus is also improving the Eurofighter aircraft. It is working with Rafael to upgrade the Litening 5 targeting pod. This will help the aircraft connect better with other systems. With some small changes in avionics, the Eurofighter will become more powerful in combat.
The Valkyrie drone itself is quite strong and capable. It is about 9.1 meters long and has a wingspan of 8.2 meters. It can travel more than 5,000 km and can fly as high as 45,000 feet. Its maximum take-off weight is around three tons. The first ever Valkyrie flight already happened in the US in 2019 and more units have been flying since then. The Airbus version is planned to fly in 2026.
