Kratos Defense & Security Solutions · uncrewed military aircraft
XQ-58 Valkyrie
A rocket-launched jet drone designed to fly as a wingman to crewed fighters. Under the Marine Corps programme, Northrop Grumman's Prism autonomy software is to run its operations on its own.
- Price
- —Military aircraft; projected flyaway cost about US$4 million at 50 aircraft per year, excluding mission systems (Aviation Week, 2024 Military Fleet and MRO Forecast).
- Autonomy
- SupervisedHow it runs
- Driverless
- TestingSince 2019-03-05
- Fleet
- —See details below
- Speed
- 1048.0 km/hFaster than 33%
- Payload
- 544 kgToo few to rank
Why it matters
An early low-cost, runway-independent jet drone built to fly alongside fighters; the US Marine Corps picked it for its first operational collaborative combat aircraft in January 2026.
Real-world use
More than 20 successful flight demonstrations in operationally relevant environments (Kratos, January 2026); Airbus was preparing two Valkyries in Manching, Germany, for a German Air Force offering (Kratos, March 2026).
Timeline
- First shown
- 2019-03-05
- Released
- Not yet
Maker
Kratos Defense & Security SolutionsCompanyHow it drives
Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.
- Driverless status
- Driverless tests only
- Where it runs
- Yuma Proving Ground and Eglin AFB, US
- Driverless since
- 2019-03-05
- Fleet
- not published
- Rides, miles or loads
- more than 20 flight demonstrations (Kratos, January 2026)
How it stacks up
Against other military aircraft that publish the figure. Pick a measure.
XQ-58 Valkyrie is heavier than 33% of the 3 other military aircraft that publish a weight. Bars show the 3 closest in date.
XQ-58 Valkyrie is faster than 33% of the 3 other military aircraft that publish a speed. Bars show the 3 closest in date.
Too few military aircraft publish a payload to rank it. Bars show the 2 closest in date.
Not published by the maker: height, joints, battery, price.
Public attention
#9 of 215 current vehicles in public attention.
- 29,293 views of its Wikipedia article in the last 90 days (Kratos XQ-58 Valkyrie)
- No recent press stories listed yet
Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-13; same method for every robot. How it is measured
What’s inside
No component details published yet.
- Movement
- Other movement
- How it runs
- Supervised. Works by itself while a person watches and steps in.
From the maker
XQ-58 Valkyrie is the only vehicle from Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the atlas.
Made, sold and where
No production or sales figures published yet.
- Price
- Not publishedMilitary aircraft; projected flyaway cost about US$4 million at 50 aircraft per year, excluding mission systems (Aviation Week, 2024 Military Fleet and MRO Forecast).
- How to get one
- No official buying page found
Sources
Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.
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