The US Marine Corps and its Defense Department partners have conducted the first test flight of the service's XQ-58 Valkyrie drone for its penetrating affordable autonomous collaborative killer portfolio (PAACK-P) program this week.
The Marines announced Thursday (October 5) that the test took place October 3 near Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, DefenseScoop reported.
The test came at the heels of the Air Force's own successful AI-powered flight last August.
"The Marine Corps constantly seeks to modernize and enhance its capabilities in a rapidly evolving security environment," US Marine Corps Aviation Cunningham Group's Lt. Col. Donald Kelly said in a statement.
He added that testing the XQ-58 determined requirements for a "highly autonomous" and "low-cost" tactical unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that would complement 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."
USMC: Valkyrie 'Performed as Expected'
The Marines said in a separate release earlier this week that the drone "performed as expected," 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, with the Marines receiving them the following March.
The test this week was the first of six total planned 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," Kratos's Steve Fendley told DefenseScoop shortly after the deal was signed.
About the XQ-58
According to data provided by Kratos, the XQ-58 is a "loyal wingman" drone that could be paired with fifth-generation fighters like the F-35. It is 30 feet (9.14 m) long with a 27-foot (8.23 m) wingspan, has a dry weight of 2,500 pounds (1,133.98 kg), and a 600-pound (272.16 kg) internal payload capacity. It also has a cruise speed of Mach 0.72 (889 kph) and a maximum range of approximately 3,000 nautical miles (5,556 km).
Notably, the UAS only costs a few million dollars per platform, which is a small fraction of the cost of an advanced crewed fighter jet.
The Marines added in its statement that the objectives of the six planned 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."
