INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Two new drone designs, Apollo and Athena, are in development at Kratos with a particular focus on collaborative operations with other crewed
and uncrewed aircraft, and an eye toward sales in Europe
In December 2024, Kratos confirmed to us that it secured contracts for both drones, but said it could not provide any additional information
During a quarterly earnings call in August 2024, Kratos CEO Eric DeMarco had disclosed the Apollo contract and said one for Athena was
expected in the coming months
the Valkyrie is 30 feet long, has a 27-foot wingspan, a dry weight of 2,500 pounds, and a maximum takeoff weight of 6,000 pounds
The drone also has a stated cruising speed of 0.72 Mach, a maximum speed of 0.85 Mach, and a maximum range of 3,000 nautical miles
In 2022, the company also announced it had developed a Block 2 version with a heavier overall weight, but did not provide a specific weight
A number of additional variants have been developed since then, but specific details about their configurations remain limited.Kratos has
However, last year, the company told TWZ that the price tag for a single XQ-58 was still between $4 and $6 million, depending on the exact
In general, Kratos has historically focused on lower-cost designs and ones that can be manufactured relatively quickly.Apollo and Athena
For instance, the external moldline, the shape and position of the engine intake and exhaust, and other features of the XQ-58 contribute to
fighter, you have some capability to get to go out in front
The F-16 can have a Valkyrie or an Athena or Apollo doing part of a mission that it normally would do, but it would have to be within a risk
perspective, can detect potential threats or potential targets of interest without being detected itself, which again, brings a capability
And, again, rough numbers
It allows each aircraft to be much less expensive
very different than the Pacific markets
