Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has announced on 17 April that Oklahoma will be the future home of the XQ-58A Valkyrie long-range, high subsonic unmanned air vehicle (UAV).
The XQ-58A Valkyrie, a runway independent UAV capable of long-range flights at high-subsonic speeds developed in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), will be produced at the Kratos Unmanned Aircraft production facility in Oklahoma City.
“Kratos is excited to announce that Oklahoma will be the future home of the XQ-58A Valkyrie. Kratos and the state of Oklahoma share a commitment to supporting our armed forces. As our company continues to grow and develop and build high-performance, low-cost technologies like the Firejet and the Valkyrie, we are proud to be doing so here. Oklahoma’s skilled workforce will help us keep America safe,” said CEO of Kratos Eric DeMarco.
The XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator completed its inaugural flight March 5, 2019 at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona.
Kratos expects to employ more than 350 employees in Oklahoma in the high-skilled engineering, design, and manufacturing fields to support the production contracts for these aircraft.
Governor Kevin Stitt said, “Oklahoma is proud to be home to a growing list of aerospace companies, who are continuing to bring high-skilled jobs to our highly patriotic and educated workforce. Kratos is a critical to our growth, and we are grateful that Kratos continues to invest in the Sooner State.”
As to date, the Kratos Unmanned Aircraft production facility in Oklahoma City is home to the production of Kratos’ Tactical UAS and MQM-178 Firejet unmanned aerial target systems.
For reference, the MQM-178 Firejet fills a variety of end-to-end weapons-release training roles including surface-to-air and air-to-air. Capable of flying a wide variety of speed and maneuverability profiles, Firejet delivers unmatched versatility by providing the opportunity to test multiple weapon systems with one flexible and affordable aerial target system.