Airbus and Kratos have completed the first European flight of the U740 Valkyrie, advancing their programme to offer an uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft to Germany and other European customers. Airbus announced the milestone on October 12 and said the programme remained on track for its stated 2029 operational-readiness goal.
The flight took place in northern Europe on September 29, Airbus Defence and Space chief executive Michael Schoellhorn told Reuters. The aircraft flew without the European mission system that Airbus intends to integrate. That distinction separates the completed airframe demonstration from the additional systems work still needed for the proposed European configuration.
Airbus said the flight met all its test objectives. The exercise included a rocket-assisted launch without a runway, manoeuvres at different altitudes and speeds, and changes to the mission while the aircraft was airborne. The company did not name the test facility in its announcement.
Schoellhorn told Reuters that securing the necessary clearances was an important part of the achievement. He said Airbus expected its MARS mission system to be installed for the next test flight in the first quarter of 2027. A first demonstration of the aircraft operating together with a Eurofighter is scheduled for later that year.
The partnership combines a Kratos-built aircraft with Airbusβs European mission system. Airbus says MARS is intended to give European users control over mission software, applications, data and system hardware. The company describes human oversight of critical decisions as part of the planned operating framework. The successful flight opens the way to more complex tests of that system. Airbus announcement.
The latest milestone follows a sequence of preparatory steps. AeroTime reports that Airbus and Kratos formed their partnership in July 2025. In March 2026, Airbus said it was preparing two aircraft acquired from Kratos for testing in Manching, near Munich. The U740 designation was introduced in June ahead of the ILA Berlin air show.
The Aviationist describes the aircraft as the European-market adaptation of the American XQ-58A Valkyrie. Its report also sets out work needed on the crewed side of the proposed pairing: Airbus and Rafael are developing additional connectivity for the Eurofighterβs targeting pod, alongside avionics updates, so the fighter can act as a command aircraft. The Aviationist report.
Airbus is pursuing the project in a competitive European market. AeroTime identifies alternative proposals from Rheinmetall and Boeing Australia, based on the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, and from General Atomics for a European collaborative combat aircraft. Helsing has also announced its CA-1 Europa programme. The competing projects have their own development schedules and requirements.
Reuters reported that German requirements were still being clarified, including the roles an uncrewed aircraft would perform alongside pilots. Schoellhorn said he hoped that the required capabilities would become clearer in the first half of 2027. He also raised the possibility of German or European production if future order volumes supported it. Reuters interview.
The October announcement reports a completed flight-test milestone and retains a future readiness target. AeroTime notes that the release does not identify a customer contract. Mission-system integration, further flight testing and planned teaming demonstrations remain the next publicly described steps toward the proposed European service entry. AeroTime report.
Image: AI-generated editorial illustration, not a photograph of the announced event.
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