Oklahoma City-based drone manufacturer Kratos was among more than a dozen U.S. military drone producers sanctioned this week by China in protest over the U.S. arms sales toTaiwan.
The move represented communist China’s sixth round of sanctions against American defense contractors. Beijing, upset by the sales toTaiwan, hit Kratos and 12 other U.S. defense companies along with six industry executives. The Chinese Foreign Ministry stated Thursday that Kratos’ Unmanned Aerial Systems was among them.
Another firm sanctioned by China was Teledyne Brown Engineering, which is a defense solution subsidiary of Teledyne Technologies.
Kratos, with about 160 employees in Oklahoma City and intentions to eventually hire 500 more workers, makes the low-cost XQ-58 Valkyrie combat drone. It had no public comment about the sanctions.
Kratos located in Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers Business Park in 2018 where “target” drones are manufactured. They are considered to be advanced UAVs which can be programmed to mimic hostile aircraft and missiles.
In 2023, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions completed its 100th MQM-178 Firejet high-performance jet-powered target drone aircraft at the plant. At the time, Steve Fendley, president of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, said achieving the completion of the 100th Firejet was an “incredible milestone” and “amazing and inspiring.”
“First, the successful growth of Kratos’ aircraft production capacity from a single site in California to effectively doubling our total capacity with the OKC site. It’s also an illustration of Kratos’ true partnership with Oklahoma’s leadership and congressional delegation, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the Greater OKC Chamber, and the local community to make this possible.”