The US Navy (USN) will purchase two Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie autonomous plane for the service’s Penetrating Affordable Autonomous Collaborative Killer (PAACK) portfolio.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) stated on 30 December the USN had awarded a $15.5 million contract to Kratos to purchase two of its autonomous jet plane, with deliveries anticipated in 2023.
The USN now joins the US Air Force (USAF) as the one identified Valkyrie operators. The USAF has been testing the XQ-58 as a part of its categorised Collaborative Combat Aircraft initiative, also referred to as “loyal wingman”. The programme goals to group a number of uncrewed fight plane with standard fighter jets.
Boeing is creating an identical plane, often called the MQ-28 Ghost Bat, for the Royal Australian Air Force.
Little is understood in regards to the USN’s efforts at creating a manned-unmanned teaming (MUMT) programme. However, the Kratos XQ-58 contract discover signifies the latest PAACK award was not competitively procured, that means Kratos was the one agency solicited.
US army procurement authorities could challenge such sole-source contracts, and not using a aggressive bidding course of, when objects or providers are deemed needed for experimental or take a look at functions.
USAF officers have stated the MUMT idea will probably be a key side of the service’s sixth-generation fighter programme, often called Next Generation Air Dominance. The USN calls its sixth-generation growth programme F/A-XX.
The USN’s 30 December contract award to Kratos specifies that the two XQ-58s will embrace “sensor and weapon system payloads to accomplish the penetrating affordable autonomous collaborative killer – portfolio objectives”.
Kratos’s web site describes Valkyrie as an experimental stealthy plane “capable of providing quick reaction runway-independent [unmanned aerial vehicle] support”.
Runway-independence is achieved by way of a rocket-assisted take-off and parachute touchdown.
The XQ-58 boasts an operational ceiling as excessive as 45,000ft and vary of some 2,607nm (4,828km), the producer says.
