Airbus conducts Europe’s first flight of U740 Valkyrie combat drone — AeroTime
Airbus has conducted Europe’s first flight of the U740 Valkyrie, its version of an unmanned combat aircraft developed by the U.S. company Kratos. The flight took place at an undisclosed test site in Northern Europe, AeroTime reports. Airbus did not disclose the exact location or date of the test.
According to Airbus, during the test the aircraft took off using a rocket booster without requiring a runway, performed maneuvers at various altitudes and speeds of up to Mach 0.8, and changed its mission while already in flight. The company said that the aircraft completed all test objectives.
The MARS system
The tests are expected to pave the way for more complex trials of the MARS system — Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure — which Airbus calls the aircraft’s “European brain.” According to the company, the system is intended to give German and other European operators control over software, mission applications, data, and equipment.
Airbus says that MARS uses software with artificial intelligence elements for autonomous mission execution and coordination of groups of aircraft. At the same time, the control hierarchy provides for human involvement in making critically important decisions.
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Plans through 2029
Airbus estimates that this stage makes it possible to stay on schedule under which Airbus and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions plan to offer a combat-ready collaborative combat aircraft by 2029 to the German Air Force and other European armed forces. The companies began cooperation in July 2025.
According to Airbus specifications, the U740 has an internal weapons bay, a maximum takeoff weight of about three tonnes, a range of more than 5,000 km, and a service ceiling of 13,700 meters. The aircraft is also designed to be operated from a runway as an alternative to rail launch.
In March 2026, Airbus reported that it was preparing two Valkyrie aircraft acquired from Kratos for flight tests in Manching near Munich. The company unveiled the U740 designation in June 2026 ahead of the ILA Berlin air show.
