Image: Airbus
The European aerospace giant is integrating a proven American uncrewed platform with a sovereign AI-powered mission system, targeting operational delivery to the Luftwaffe within four years.
Airbus is working at full speed to deliver an operational Uncrewed Collaborative Combat Aircraft (UCCA) system to the German Air Force by 2029. At its Manching facility near Munich, the company is preparing the first two Kratos Valkyrie aircraft for their European maiden flight, fitted with a sovereign mission system. Both aircraft are scheduled to fly later this year.
The programme pairs Airbus with U.S. defence firm Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, combining American flight-proven hardware with European autonomous mission capability. The two companies are integrating and missionising the platform ahead of production and delivery to the Luftwaffe.
Sovereign Mission System
Airbus is equipping the Valkyries with its Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure (MARS) mission system. MARS incorporates an AI-enabled software package called MindShare. The system is designed not only to replace the human pilot, but to coordinate entire mission groups by distributing its software brain across multiple manned and uncrewed platforms simultaneously.
Marco Gumbrecht, Head of Key Account Germany at Airbus Defence and Space, said the combination directly addressed Europe’s current security requirements. “By combining the Kratos Valkyrie with our MARS mission system, we are offering the German customer exactly what Germany and Europe urgently need in the current geopolitical situation,” he said. He described the offering as a flight-proven uncrewed combat aircraft with a sovereign European mission system that avoids lengthy and costly clean-sheet development. Gumbrecht said Airbus was confident it could deliver at an affordable price — which he identified as a key procurement driver.
Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, said the Airbus-missionised Valkyrie could operate independently, in uncrewed teams, or in Manned-Unmanned Teaming configurations alongside crewed platforms. He described the system as an example of “affordable mass” — a capability discriminator consistently highlighted in peer-on-peer wargame analysis.
Eurofighter Integration
To enable the Eurofighter to act as a command aircraft, Airbus and Israeli firm Rafael are enhancing the Litening 5 Advanced Targeting Pod — already contracted across the Eurofighter fleet — with a cross-platform connectivity capability. Minor avionics updates will accompany the enhancement. Together, the upgrades are expected to significantly increase the Eurofighter’s combat lethality.
Platform Specifications
The Kratos Valkyrie is 9.1 metres long with an 8.2-metre wingspan and a range exceeding 5,000 kilometres. Its maximum take-off weight stands at around three tonnes. The aircraft can operate at altitudes of up to 45,000 feet. It completed its U.S. maiden flight in 2019 and has flown regularly since. The Airbus-missionised European variant is scheduled for its first flight in 2026.
Operating fully autonomously or under Eurofighter command, the Valkyrie will be capable of undertaking high-risk mission tasks considered too dangerous for crewed platforms. The system can serve both kinetic and non-kinetic roles. For the German customer, Airbus and Kratos are initially concentrating on a specific mission role to deliver credible combat air power on time.
Strategic Background
Germany’s decision to pursue a near-term UCCA capability — rather than await a clean-sheet European design — reflects the urgency reshaping European defence procurement. With roughly a third of NATO’s eastern flank dependent on German air power commitments, Berlin’s appetite for speed and affordability over developmental purity marks a significant shift in approach. The Airbus-Kratos model, pairing a proven U.S. airframe with sovereign European software, is positioning itself as a politically viable answer to that demand.
Further programme details are available via Airbus Defence and Space.
