The event, which occurred earlier this month during the annual Emerald Flag joint exercise at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, comes as the Corps is conducting research, development, test and evaluation for its Penetrating Affordable Autonomous Collaborative Killer-Portfolio (PAACK-P) program, and the U.S. military writ large is pursuing new manned-unmanned teaming capabilities and next-generation drones known as collaborative combat aircraft.

The Valkyrie, built by Kratos, “effectively demonstrated its capabilities as a forward deployed sensing platform — providing critical threat targeting data to Marine Corps fifth-generation aircraft to rapidly close advanced kill chain,” the Marines said in a release Thursday announcing the results of the flight test, adding that it “contributed broad airborne and surface sensor awareness information to multiple ground and airborne joint network participants.”

The drone is 30 feet long with a 27-foot wingspan; has a dry weight of 2,500 pounds; 600-pound internal payload capacity; Mach 0.72 cruise speed; and maximum range of approximately 3,000 nautical miles, according to a Kratos data sheet. It costs a few million dollars per platform.

The uncrewed system was originally developed for the Air Force Research Lab’s Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology (LCAAT) initiative, and it has also participated in AFRL’s Skyborg program aimed at furthering technology for autonomous systems and robotic wingmen.

In December 2022, the Pentagon announced that the Department of the Navy had awarded a $15.5 million contract to Kratos for two Valkyries.

A year ago, the Marines kicked-off light testing of the system for the PAACK-P initiative.

A second test was conducted in February. In a release announcing the successful completion of that event, the Corps referred to the system as a “highly autonomous, low-cost tactical unmanned air vehicle.”

The third test, which occurred in September, added Link-16 capabilities.

In a statement, Col. Derek Brannon, branch head for the Cunningham Group, deputy commandant for aviation, said the most recent demonstration that happened this month focused on the use of tactical data links to enable digital communication between the XQ-58A, a four-ship of F-35Bs from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 and other aircraft from the joint force.

“This test flight marked the capstone event for the PAACK-P Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve project and proved the tactical utility of uncrewed offboard sensing platforms,” Lt. Col. Bradley Buick, the Cunningham Group’s future capabilities officer, said in a statement.

The Marines planned to conduct six flight tests of the drone for the program, officials said last year.

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The test, which took place Oct. 3 near Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, comes as the U.S. military is pursuing new robo-jets that can team with crewed platforms.

“The Marine Corps constantly seeks to modernize and enhance its capabilities in a rapidly evolving security environment,” Lt. Col. Donald Kelly, a member of the Headquarters Marine Corps Aviation Cunningham Group and Advanced Development Team, said in a statement. “Testing the XQ-58 Valkyrie determines requirements for a highly autonomous, low-cost tactical UAS that compliments the need for agile, expeditionary and lethal capabilities in support of both the Marine Corps’ stand-in force operations in austere environments and the Joint Force.” 

The service is partnering with the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Naval Air Systems Command and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division on the effort.

During the flight test earlier this week, the drone “performed as expected,” the Marine Corps said in a release without providing additional details.

In December 2022, the Department of the Navy awarded a $15.5 million contract to Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems for two Valkyrie platforms. The Marine Corps received them in March and it plans to conduct a total of six flight tests.

“Kratos is excited to expand the use of the Valkyrie and offer its capabilities and the Kratos advantage of affordability to the Navy with our first major tactical contract with the branch, which internal investments and our established production line enable us to deliver the aircraft with effectively zero lead time,” Steve Fendley, president of Kratos’ Unmanned Systems Division, said in a statement to DefenseScoop shortly after the deal was announced.

The drone is 30 feet long with a 27-foot wingspan; has a dry weight of 2,500 pounds; 600-pound internal payload capacity; Mach 0.72 cruise speed; and maximum range of approximately 3,000 nautical miles, according to a Kratos data sheet. Notably, the UAS only costs a few million dollars per platform, a small fraction of the cost of an advanced crewed fighter jet.

Objectives of the six planned Marine Corps flight tests include “evaluating the platform’s ability to support a variety of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions; the effectiveness of autonomous electronic support to crewed platforms; the potential for AI-enabled platforms to augment combat air patrols; and continuing to mature other manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) capability objectives,” according to Thursday’s release.

The Air Force in recent months has also been putting the Valkyrie through its paces as it pursues “collaborative combat aircraft” that could serve as robotic wingmen and operate with a high degree of autonomy.

In August, the service tested the drone in a mock air combat scenario involving “simulated opponents using simulated mission systems and simulated weapons,” according to an Air Force Research Lab release. The event also helped the service train “tactical autonomy” algorithms.

“The opportunity to fly alongside this trained AI-piloted air vehicle really set into stone this technology is very real and here to stay,” Capt. Tyler Brown, autonomy flight test lead at the Air Force, said in a statement after the August demonstration.  “I feel we are at an inflection point of an exponential curve for the application of AI. It is imperative we understand the power of AI, its strengths and weaknesses, and that it is implemented in the right way.”

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