Airbus partners with Kratos for XQ-58A Valkyrie-based drone for German Air Force
July 17, 2025
Airbus is partnering with Kratos to rapidly develop a loyal wingman drone for the German Air Force.
The drone will be based on the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie autonomous aircraft. This is the platform extensively used by the USAF to develop Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs).
Airbus and Kratos to rapidly develop loyal wingman drone
Airbus Defence and Space and Kratos Defense and Security Solutions will work in partnership to develop advanced loyal wingman drones – uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft (UCCAs).
Kratos will provide its proven XQ-58A Valkyrie to be modified with an Airbus-made mission system.
Airbus’ mission system is designed to integrate “seamlessly” into the Valkyrie, allowing a growing “ecosystem of crewed and uncrewed platforms.”
The Kratos XQ-58A is a low-observable (somewhat stealthy), rail-launched drone. It is designed to fly with manned fighters and leverage their capabilities.
The aircraft is able to fly for 3,000 miles at an altitude of up to 45,000 feet. It comes with a stated cruising speed of 0.72 Mach, a maximum speed of 0.85 Mach
While the Valkyrie is used by the US Air Force to develop loyal wingman drones, it has not been selected as the service’s future loyal wingman drone.
The US Air Force has instead awarded contracts to Anduril, with its YFQ-44A, and General Dynamics, with its YFQ-42A. Both of these are more capable platforms than the smaller X-58A.
Meeting the needs of the German Air Force
The modified Valkyrie is expected to be combat-ready for the German Air Force by 2029. If Airbus can stick with this ambitious timeline, it will be remarkably rapid.
The first US Air Force-equipped fighters with advanced loyal wingman drones are to be the F-22 Raptor. These are expected to be operational before 2030.
The German Air Force currently has an inventory of 129 multirole Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, with 35 more on order, as well as 63 aging variable-sweep-wing Panavia Tornados.
It also has 35 5th-generation F-35A Lightning II stealth fighters on order. It is unclear how many Airbus-modified Kratos XQ-58A drones it will buy or which aircraft they will fly with.
Airbus notes that in the current geopolitical context, unspecified countries have “expressed an urgent demand for both attritable and non-attritable Collaborative Combat Aircraft.” The company says it can meet these requirements faster by making use of Kratos’ proven unmanned aircraft.
The ongoing Russian invasion has seen European countries surge their military budgets. Before 2022, many were spending less than 2% of GDP on military expenditure. NATO members (except for Spain) pledged to increase military spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, including 1.5% of defence-related infrastructure.
Europeans are developing advanced autonomous aircraft
The USAF recently successfully flew F-15 and F-16 fighter jets controlling multiple XQ-58A Valkyrie drones in a combat test. While the United States dominates the headlines as it develops advanced loyal wingman drones, it is not the only country developing them.
European countries are also racing to develop loyal wingman drones, with several projects underway. Wingman drones of various tiers are in development across the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, and Turkey.
Airbus is one of the largest defense contractors in Europe and is currently one of the leading companies developing the sixth-generation Franco-German-led FCAS fighter jet. It also has other loyal wingman projects in development.
In June 2024, Airbus unveiled its own concept of a loyal wingman drone, imaginatively called the ‘Wingman’. This was also being developed for the German Air Force, but wouldn’t be ready until the 2030s.
Meanwhile, British defence contractor BAE Systems is working on developing the MQ-28 Ghostbat for Australia. France is planning to have a wingman drone for its Rafale fighters by 2033.
