Not only is drone manufacturer Kratos expanding its Oklahoma manufacturing facilities, but one of its newest drones could mean more customers for the company.
News came recently that the U.S. Marine Corps is moving to transition its XQ-58A Valkyrie drone work into a full program of record and perhaps a partnership with Airbus to craft a version of the Valkyrie for the German Luftwaffe.
Eric DeMarco, CEO at Kratos, discussed the possibilities during a quarterly earnings call recently. The Air Force and Marine Corps are the only known operators of XQ-58s now, and they have been using them for test and evaluation purposes, reported “The War Zone.”
Kratos manufactures weapons systems for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army, as well as the militaries of ally nations.
The company was founded in 1994 as Wireless Facilities Inc. and originally specialized in telecommunications infrastructure and networks. It announced its new company name, Kratos, in 2007, and announced its defense engineering and weapons development divisions in 2008.
The Kratos Unmanned Systems Division has a facility in Oklahoma City, which opened in 2018 to meet increasing demand for drones and target drone systems. The Oklahoma City facility is fully operational with two major drone aircraft systems in rate production, as well as prototype production of a third system.
The first MQM-178 Firejet was built in Oklahoma City in April 2019. The XQ-58A Valkyrie, a high-performance tactical unmanned aerial vehicle capable of long-range, high-subsonic speed flights, is also built at the Oklahoma City facility.
As announced in June, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions intends to build a manufacturing facility to produce turbojet engines in Bristow. Its announcement was made in Paris, France ahead of the 2025 Paris Air Show.
“This is a big win for American workers, for our military, and for every Oklahoman who believes in freedom, innovation, and strength,” Gov. Kevin Stitt said. “Kratos could’ve gone anywhere in the world, but they choose to continue investing in Oklahoma because it is the best place to build, grow, and do business.” Oklahoma is “proud to be a hub for national defense and is leading the way in rebuilding America’s industrial base and powering the technologies that keep our country safe.”
Bristow’s 50,000 square-foot facility, expandable to 100,000 square feet, will be built on 20 acres. It will house up to five production lines for Kratos’ GEK (GE Aerospace- Kratos) family of turbojet engines and include on-site test cells funded in part through state incentive programs. Kratos plans to begin hiring later this year, with full operations expected by the end of 2026.