Kratos Advances to Gremlins Phase II as Subcontractor on Dynetics Team
March 16 2017 - 10:14AM
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:KTOS), a
leading National Security Solutions provider, announced today that
its subsidiary, Composite Engineering, Inc. (CEi), is a
subcontractor to Dynetics, which has been selected for award on
Phase II of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) /
Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Gremlins program. Under the
Phase II contract, CEi will be a critical team member and will
support Dynetics by designing, developing and building prototype
Gremlin Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), tooling, and support
equipment, as well as developing performance analyses, supporting
subsystem testing, and planning for potential future phases.
DARPA Gremlins Phase I was awarded to four
contractors, with Kratos being on two of the Phase I winning teams,
one as prime contractor, and one as team member and subcontractor
to Dynetics. The Gremlins Phase II down select was planned
for two of the Phase I awardees; with the final Phase, Phase III,
planned to be awarded to a single contractor. The goal of the
Gremlins program is to demonstrate safe and reliable aerial launch
and aerial recovery of multiple unmanned aircraft, capable of
employing and recovering diverse distributed payloads in volley
quantities.
Steve Fendley, President of Kratos' Unmanned
Systems Division, said, "The Gremlins program, and specifically the
Gremlin UAVs, have been a key element of our strategic focus for
expanding our Tactical UAV family of products. We believe the
Gremlin UAVs and operational concept substantially increase the
utility of tactical UAVs as compared to today’s operations and will
greatly enhance our warfighter’s capability through both technology
and, more importantly, quantity of unmanned aircraft, i.e.,
mass. Needless to say, our entire organization was thrilled
when Kratos received two of the four Gremlins Phase I awards last
year, one as a prime and the other as a subcontractor, which we
believed was testimony to Kratos’ ability to quickly develop,
design, prototype and produce high performance UAVs for a low
cost. We are now equally excited about Kratos’ advancement to
Gremlins Phase II with Dynetics, one of the industry leaders in
complex system engineering and integration, which we believe
further validates Kratos’ unique capabilities in the high
performance UAV area.”
Mark Miller, the Dynetics Program Manager for
Gremlins, said, “Kratos/CEi is a very important part of our
Gremlins team. Our corporate cultures align well, and our
capabilities complement one another. The expertise and experience
they bring in rapid development of low-cost, re-usable, composite
airframes combined with an innovative, agile, design team is
exactly what this fast-paced program requires.”
Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos, said,
“As a leading innovator of cutting-edge technology in the Unmanned
Aerial Systems arena, and in line with our future objectives and
internal development efforts over the past several years, Kratos is
continuing to broaden our offering of high-performance unmanned jet
aircraft, to include the Gremlin UAV, which fits a performance and
cost niche comfortably inside our current range of target and
tactical unmanned aircraft. We have consistently demonstrated our
success in rapidly designing and delivering low cost, high
performance unmanned jet aircraft, and we see this as critical with
respect to the Gremlins requirement. Our strategic focus is
consistent with the Department of Defense’s Third Offset Strategy,
which emphasizes the need to rapidly prototype innovative
technologies to counter emerging threats and provide the United
States with an asymmetric advantage over our adversaries. This
announcement is an exciting step forward for Kratos in our
partnership with Dynetics. Kratos will do everything possible to
support Dynetics in making Gremlins a successful program, and I
look forward to continuing to work and support as a leader in the
UAS market.”
About Kratos Defense & Security
SolutionsKratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc.
(Nasdaq:KTOS) is a mid-tier government contractor at the forefront
of the Department of Defense’s Third Offset Strategy. Kratos
is a leading technology, intellectual property and proprietary
product and solution company focused on the United States and its
allies’ national security. Kratos is the industry leader in
high performance unmanned aerial drone target systems used to test
weapon systems and the warfighter, and a provider of high
performance unmanned combat aerial systems for force multiplication
and amplification. Kratos is also an industry leader in
satellite communications, microwave electronics, cyber
security/warfare, missile defense and combat systems. Kratos
has primarily an engineering and technically oriented work force of
approximately 2,900. Substantially all of Kratos' work is performed
on a military base, in a secure facility or at a critical
infrastructure location. Kratos' primary end customers are National
Security related agencies. News and information are available at
www.KratosDefense.com.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking
StatementsCertain statements in this press release may
constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current
beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Kratos
and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking
statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of
the date they are made, and Kratos undertakes no obligation to
update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise. Although Kratos believes
that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements
are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially
from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking
statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in
these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the
business of Kratos in general, see the risk disclosures in the
Annual Report on Form 10-K of Kratos for the year ended
December 25, 2016, and other filings made with the SEC by
Kratos.
Press Contact:
Yolanda White
858-812-7302 Direct
Investor Information:
877-934-4687
investor@kratosdefense.com
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