Runway-Free Uncrewed Valkyrie Drone Flies Alongside 1,200-Mph F-35s

Marines flew Valkyrie with F-35s in electronic warfare test

A US Marine took control of a Kratos Valkyrie drone beyond line of sight as it flew an electronic warfare mission alongside F-35s and an F/A-18 at a US Navy test range in southern California, the manufacturer revealed on August 18, 2026.  The April 2026 flight began with the missionized United States Marine Corps (USMC) Valkyrie collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) launching from a zero-length launcher. The runway-independent aircraft later retur…

Runway-free uncrewed Valkyrie drone flies alongside 1,200-mph F-35s

The US military is moving closer to a future where uncrewed aircraft operate alongside advanced fighters, extend their reach, and take on missions in heavily contested airspace. For the Marine Corps, that effort includes finding ways to connect autonomous aircraft with crewed F-35s and F/A-18s. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has now demonstrated another piece of that concept with its missionized XQ-58A Valkyrie collaborative combat aircraft…

USMC Valkyrie Demonstrates Beyond-Line-Of-Sight C2 in Flight at Test Range - Seapower Magazine

SAN DIEGO — Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. a Technology Company in the Defense, National Security and Global Markets and an industry-leading provider of high-performance, jet-powered unmanned aerial systems, announced today that a missionized United States Marine Corps’ (USMC) Valkyrie Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) successfully demonstrated Electronic Warfare (EW) capabilities and beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) command and control (…

Kratos Valkyrie flies with F-35 fighters in electronic warfare test, demonstrating beyond line of sight control in contested operations

The runway-independent Valkyrie launched from a zero-length launcher and validated its beyond line of sight communications system. Control then shifted from the Kratos ground station to an Autonomy Government Reference Architecture-compliant human-machine interface developed by Autonodyne. A Marine Corps operator used the interface to control the Valkyrie over beyond line of sight communications during the flight. The unmanned aircraft completed…