BEDEX 2026: Airbus prepares for first Kratos Valkyrie UAS flight with MARS mission system

Airbus and Kratos announced at BEDEX that the Valkyrie UAS (pictured at the exhibition) is being prepared for its first flight with MARS later in 2026. (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)

Airbus and Kratos Defence and Security Solutions announced in a joint press release on the second day of the Brussels European Defense Exhibition and Conference (BEDEX) held on 12–14 March that two of US company Kratos' Valkyrie unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) were being prepared for their first flight with the European Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure (MARS) system later in 2026. The European company plans to offer the Luftwaffe an operational uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft (UCCA) system by 2029 through its partnership with Kratos to integrate, missionise, and ultimately produce and deliver the UCCA.

The open architecture, hardware-agnostic, modular, scalable MARS contains a software brain called MindShare supported by artificial intelligence (AI) to replace a human pilot, as well as being capable of co-ordinating mission groups through distribution across many manned and uncrewed platforms, according to Airbus.

“By combining the Kratos Valkyrie with our MARS mission system, we are offering the German customer exactly what Germany and Europe urgently need in the current geopolitical situation: a proven flying uncrewed combat aircraft with a sovereign European mission system that does not have to be developed from scratch in a time-consuming and costly manner,” said Marco Gumbrecht, head of key account Germany at Airbus Defence and Space. “Our objective is to deliver credible combat capability in time of relevance, while assuring key sovereign aspects, and we are confident that we can do this at a very affordable price, which is a key driver for UCCAs.”