Airbus completes Valkyrie’s first European test flight
Airbus flew a US-built Kratos Valkyrie in Europe for the first time, testing regulatory clearance ahead of planned mission-system and Eurofighter integration.
By TomorrowNews · AI-assisted briefing · Briefing published 13 October 2026
AI-generated illustration — not a photograph of the event. The aircraft is a generic artistic interpretation and not a Valkyrie photograph, Airbus rendering or operational scene. · TomorrowNews / AI-generated illustration
The September 29 flight over northern Europe did not yet include Airbus’s MARS mission system. Airbus said the next test is planned for the first quarter of 2027, with a first Eurofighter-teamed flight later that year.
Airbus and Kratos have targeted a 2029 capability for Germany. The current milestone chiefly demonstrates that a test programme can operate within Europe’s complex airspace; it does not establish operational readiness.
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