Kratos Tests Hypersonic Vehicle One Month After Contract Signing
20 February, 2025 Illustration of Kratos' Erinyes hypersonic test vehicle. Image by Kratos The American company Kratos Defense & Security has conducted a test of the Multifunctional Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB).
This is stated in the company's press release. The company tested the inexpensive Erinyes vehicle, which can be used for phased testing as a weapon carrier or interceptor platform. Kratos Defense & Security emphasizes that the test confirmed the possibility of rapid and cost-effective development, production and deployment of hypersonic technologies.
The Erinyes test.
Source: Kratos Defense.
The total value of the contract, subject to the exercise of all options, is £1.45 billion. It was signed in January 2025. As part of the contract, Kratos led a team of subcontractors responsible for system engineering, assembly, integration and testing, and was also responsible for planning and launch.
MACH-TB
The MACH-TB program was launched by the U.S.
Navy in 2022 to develop cost-effective test methods for hypersonic technologies to facilitate their faster development and deployment. The MACH-TB 1.0 program has created a test platform for ground and flight testing of hypersonic technologies and payloads. These tests utilize existing commercial infrastructure and launch vehicles, which significantly reduces costs and speeds up the process.
The XMaX hypersonic glider launch vehicle at the DGA rocket range.
Photo by DGA
The result of the MACH-TB 1.0 pilot project was a proof-of-concept and prototype demonstration of a modular experimental gliding body (EGB) for testing hypersonic technologies. After conducting more than 25 flight tests and creating a hypersonic testbed as part of MACH-TB 1.0, the Pentagon is moving from proof of concept to full-scale testing as part of MACH-TB 2.0.
Kratos Defense projects
The company's flagship project is the XQ-58 Valkyrie jet drone with integrated artificial intelligence. The drone was created for the Low Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator (LCASD) program of the United States Air Force.
The XQ-58 Valkyrie is designed as a low-cost UAV whose primary task will be to work as a wingman in conjunction with the F-22 or F-35. The drone is based on stealth technology, and should be able to take off like an airplane and launch from "stealthy launch modules".
The XQ-58 flies alongside a pair of US F-35A fighters during a test in 2023. Photo by the US Air Force
The manufacturer claimed that in the case of mass production of 50 units per year, the cost of the drone would be £4 million, or £2 million in the case of producing twice as much.
The XQ-58A has a cruising speed of Mach 0.72, a flight ceiling of 13700 m above sea level, and a maximum range of approximately 4800 km.
The declared maximum launch weight of the drone is 2700 kg.
It is also known that the company is developing low-cost GEK engines that can be used to power both drones and cruise missiles.