Kratos has unveiled plans for a Mach 5-capable drone that promises to be ‘orders of magnitude’ cheaper than any comparable hypersonic design.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has unveiled an internally funded effort to develop a drone capable of exceeding Mach 5 , positioning it as both groundbreaking and cost-effective. Eric DeMarco, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, first confirmed the project’s existence during an interview with Aviation Week.
Details on the design’s maturity, operational role, or precise propulsion method remain limited.Still, the firm aims to have its hypersonic drone stand out by being “orders of magnitude less expensive” than any comparable system or concept on the market.A radical strategy for affordable hypersonicsKratos has long championed affordability, notably with its XQ-58 Valkyrie unmanned combat aerial vehicle, and it intends to follow a similar low-cost philosophy for this new high-speed aircraft. The unnamed drone will join the “Kratos Furies Family of Hypersonic Systems,” alongside existing hypersonic developments like the Erinyes and Dark Fury. Both of those are unpowered boost-glide vehicles intended for rocket-assisted launches.“Similar to Kratos Erinyes and Dark Fury Hypersonic Flyers, this new Kratos-funded Hypersonic Drone initiative, included in Kratos Furies Family of Hypersonic Systems, is expected to be orders of magnitude less costly than any other hypersonic system or concept in existence today,” a Kratos spokesperson told TWZ , underscoring the company’s emphasis on affordability.From solid-fuel boost-glides to air-breathersErinyes and Dark Fury rely on rocket boosters to reach hypersonic speeds. Meanwhile, Kratos has also been investing in solid-fuel rocket motors under the “Zeus” umbrella, aligning with the U.S. military’s Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonics Test Bed program and the needs of the U.S. Navy, Missile Defense Agency , and NASA. In January, Kratos received a five-year MACH-TB-related contract valued at up to $1.45 billion if all options are exercised.In addition to rocket-boosted craft, Kratos is exploring air-breathing propulsion, potentially in partnership with Australian firm Hypersonix Launch Systems. Hypersonix’s DART AE concept relies on a hydrogen-fueled scramjet engine. Although DART AE would still require a rocket booster for initial acceleration, it highlights Kratos’ broader commitment to making hypersonic platforms less expensive and more practical.“We are also focused on developing advanced, affordable engines for a new class of hypersonic propulsion system,” DeMarco said in 2019, indicating that Kratos views solid rocket motors and air-breathing technologies as complementary solutions for high-speed unmanned flight.Timing and future applications of hypersonic droneHypersonic weapons and platforms have gained substantial momentum within the U.S. Department of Defense. DARPA’s Next Generation Responsive Strike and other programs like Mayhem aim to produce reusable high-speed systems for strike and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions within the next five years. Kratos was named in 2022 as part of the Leidos-led team behind Mayhem, which is slated to deliver an air-breathing hypersonic platform.Last year, Kratos confirmed that Erinyes made a successful hypersonic test flight for a Missile Defense Agency experiment, exceeding Mach 5. This underscores the company’s track record of executing rapid-development projects on relatively modest budgets—Erinyes reportedly cost less than $15 million to develop over three years.For Kratos, the new hypersonic drone represents the next leap forward. A potentially reusable, high-speed platform that performs advanced missions without incurring the skyrocketing costs typical of cutting-edge hypersonic systems. Whether it sees widespread use as an unmanned strike craft, a testbed, or a reconnaissance vehicle, the program signals that the race toward more accessible, high-velocity flight is only accelerating—and that Kratos aims to be at the forefront.
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