Defense contractor Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. announced recently that it won a $79.9 million contract from the Air Force for delivery of 60 of its tactical jet drone target aircraft.
Kratos (Nasdaq: KTOS) is based in San Diego. It builds its target drones in Sacramento and has an engineering office in Roseville.
“Just about 100% of the work will be in Sacramento,” said Steve Fendley, president of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division. He said the company will increase staffing in Sacramento and Roseville by about 10 to 15 employees, where the company currently employs about 500 people.
The Air Force order is for 60 aircraft, mission kits, certain flight consumables and technical data for its BQM-167A Air Force subscale aerial target under a five-year base contract.
This contract is the largest single purchase of BQM-167As by the Air Force’s Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
The BQM-167A drone is used for target practice by the military. It simulates incoming threats like missiles and aircraft.
The drones are about 20 feet long, and can fly at up to Mach 0.92, or roughly 705 miles per hour at sea level. They have an operational ceiling of up to 50,000 feet, and can operate at 50 feet above sea level. The drones are made chiefly of composite materials. They are launched from a rail system and are recoverable with parachute landing to sea or land.
This award incorporates upgrades and enhancements to the baseline BQM-167A.
“As our nation’s peer threat countries continuously grow their capabilities in both technology and mass, our country must train our military and test our defenses against current, relevant, accurate and representative threat systems,” Fendley said in a news release.
In March, Kratos won a $57.7 million modification of an existing contract to provide its aerial target drones to the Navy.
In 2023, Kratos' Sacramento operations received $50 million in Navy orders for target drones along with $21 million in orders for target drones from the Air Force. In 2023, it also won $23 million in contracts from the Navy for Kratos’ unmanned tactical aircraft.
The tactical aircraft, called the Valkyrie, is a remote-controlled plane that can be flown by a ground controller, or by the pilot or navigator in a fighter jet, where the Valkyrie serves as a reconnaissance craft or wingman for the fighter.
