- Kratos completed initial flights of the J85-powered Mk1 Firejet drone developed with U.S. Army TSMO, marking its first tactical jet UAS under $500,000.
- The Kratos Spartan engine facility, opened in late 2025, is scaling J85 production to thousands of units annually to meet U.S. and allied demand.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has completed the initial flight series of a new J85 engine-powered variant of its Firejet unmanned aerial system, the company said.
Developed in coordination with the U.S. Army’s Target Systems Management Office, the new configuration — designated Mk1 Firejet — represents the second major variant of the Firejet platform and positions Kratos as the first to market with a high-performance tactical jet drone in the sub-$500,000 price class.
The Mk1 Firejet is powered by the Kratos J85, an engine produced at the company’s Spartan engine facility, which stood up operations in late 2025. According to Kratos, production is expected to reach thousands of units later this year and tens of thousands over the next several years. The ramp-up is intended to address growing demand driven by the depletion of U.S. and allied drone inventories — a trend that has accelerated in recent years amid sustained global conflict.
The J85-equipped variant joins the existing Classic Firejet, which has been flying since the early 2010s using JetCat engines and has supported U.S. Army TSMO operations for over a decade. The Classic Firejet also serves allied nations, with Taiwan most recently selecting a variant called the Mighty Hornet IV for its own configuration. By offering two distinct models, Kratos says it can now meet a wider range of customer cost-performance requirements.
Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems, said, “Kratos is committed to developing and providing threat-representative target aircraft systems and to offering survivable tactical UAS. With this new version of the Firejet in both target or tactical applications, we increase range, endurance, speed, and climb rate without penalizing survivability. Importantly, we also reduce supply chain risk by using an American-made Kratos engine with engine components sourced in the U.S.A. With the two Firejet models, Mk1 and Classic Firejet, we can now meet the cost-performance levels aligned with various customers’ needs.”
Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos, added, “With our rapid advancement and in production, military-grade jet engines, Kratos is making internal investments to answer the Department of War’s call to industry to deliver affordable, high performance, military capability today. Kratos has invested significant internal resources and together with Army TSMO, have integrated a leading technology engine with the Firejet jet drone system. In addition to the increased performance as a target, this engine configuration of Firejet is first-to-market as a CCA type, tactical jet UAS, in the high-performance, sub-$500,000 arena; another example where affordability is a technology.”
The Firejet family is designed to replicate the performance characteristics of advanced threat aircraft, giving U.S. and allied forces a realistic adversary platform for training and weapons testing. A single Firejet can support both surface-to-air and air-to-air engagement exercises, and is compatible with a variety of mission kits including tow targets, proximity scoring, passive and active RF augmentation, and infrared augmentation. That versatility reduces the need for multiple specialized target drone types.
The Mk1 Firejet’s introduction as a potential Collaborative Combat Aircraft-type system is notable. The CCA concept — whereby low-cost autonomous aircraft operate alongside crewed fighters — has become a central pillar of U.S. air power modernization. By delivering a jet-powered tactical drone at under $500,000 per unit, Kratos is positioning the platform as an accessible entry point into that emerging mission set, well below the cost thresholds typically associated with more advanced CCA programs.
The domestic engine supply chain is also a central element of the Mk1’s value proposition. With the J85 produced entirely within the United States, Kratos aims to reduce exposure to foreign components and logistics delays — considerations that have become increasingly important as the Department of War pushes industry to accelerate fielding of affordable, combat-ready systems.
The Firejet program reflects the broader push across U.S. defense to field capable unmanned systems at scale and at speed, without the cost overruns that have historically defined major defense acquisitions.