A subsidiary of aerospace defense contractor Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. received a $50.9 million contract award from the Navy for 65 of the jet-powered drone aircraft it builds in Sacramento.
Steve Fendley, president of Kratos Unmanned Systems division, said 100% the work would be performed in Sacramento.
“We were hoping the award would come before the end of the year, and it did. It was a nice Christmas present,” Fendley told the Business Journal.
Kratos (Nasdaq: KTOS) is based in San Diego. Its Kratos Unmanned Systems division has two manufacturing operations in Sacramento, an engineering division in Roseville, as well as more manufacturing in Oklahoma.
In this award, 50 of the subsonic aerial target drones are for the U.S. Navy, and through the same contract, eight will be made for the government of Saudi Arabia and seven for Japan, Kratos said.
Fendley said the order will likely be delivered over a 12-month to 18-month window. Kratos will likely have to hire a handful of new employees, Fendley said. “We’re always gradually expanding.”
Kratos employs more than 500 people locally, making it tied as the fourth-largest manufacturer in the region.
Kratos designs and builds jet-powered target drones that the U.S. and other military buyers use to train armed forces to shoot down aircraft and inbound missiles. Some of the target drones it builds can fly at just under the speed of sound at altitudes from 7 feet over sea level to 40,000 feet. The U.S. Navy and Air Force use them to train troops to shoot down enemy aircraft and missiles. The drones don't land, rather they parachute back to earth for reuse.
Earlier this month, Kratos got an international order for $4.1 million for its target drones. With the exception of the jet engine, all the major components of the unmanned systems division’s drones are built, assembled, painted, tested and shipped in Sacramento.
Kratos’ Sacramento operations received more than $90 million in orders last year. In 2019, Kratos took more than $100 million in a series of drone orders, and it got more than $117 million in a series of orders for tactical drones in 2018.
