Airbus has announced it is preparing two Valkyrie unmanned combat drones, acquired from Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, for a first flight equipped with the European MARS ("Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure") mission system.
Testing is scheduled to take place in 2026 from Manching, Germany, as part of the development of a collaborative combat drone system that the group aims to make operational for the German Air Force by 2029.
The MARS system integrates "MindShare," an artificial intelligence-based software capable of replacing the pilot and coordinating groups of manned and unmanned platforms.
The Valkyrie will be able to operate autonomously or in cooperation with an Eurofighter acting as a command aircraft, notably thanks to an upgrade of the Litening 5 targeting pod developed with Rafael.
Measuring 9.1 m in length with a wingspan of 8.2 m, the aircraft has a range exceeding 5,000 km and can operate at altitudes up to 45,000 feet (nearly 14,000 meters) to conduct high-risk missions.
Airbus shares fell 1% in Paris and have declined by approximately 14% since the beginning of the year.
Airbus SE is No. 1 in Europe and No. 2 worldwide in the aeronautics, aerospace, and defense industries. Net sales break down by family of products and services as follows:
- commercial aircraft (70.1%). The group is No. 1 worldwide for aircrafts with more than 100 seats;
- defense and aerospace systems (18.2%): military aircrafts (primarily transport aircrafts, marine surveillance aircrafts, anti-submarines fighter planes and flight refueling aircrafts), spatial equipment (orbital launchers, observation and communication satellite, turboprop aircraft, etc.), defense and security systems (missile systems, electronic and telecommunications systems, etc.). Airbus SE also provides training and aircrafts maintenance services;
- civil and military helicopters (11.7%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Europe (40.8%), Asia-Pacific (28.0%), North America (17.7%), Middle East (9.0%), Latin America (2.7%), and Other (1.8%).
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