Kratos Awarded New U.S. Air Force Program of $17.6 Million to Develop and Test Jet UAS for Manned-Unmanned Teaming
October 26 2021 - 8:00AM
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS), a
leading National Security Solutions provider, announced today that
Kratos Unmanned Systems Division (KUSD) has been awarded a
$17,677,612, 12-month cost plus fixed-fee contract to design and
develop an Off Board Sensing Station (OBSS) Unmanned Aerial System
(UAS) in support of Air Force Research Laboratory’s Autonomous
Collaborative Platforms (ACP) technology maturation portfolio. Work
under the program award will be performed at secure Kratos
engineering and technology facilities located in Texas, California,
and Oklahoma over the next 12 months.
The OBSS program includes an optional subsequent
15-month Manufacture and Demonstration period. With the base and
option awards, total contract to Kratos would be $49M.
Steve Fendley, President of Kratos
Unmanned Systems Division, said, “Our industry leading
high performance per cost family of tactical and target unmanned
aerial systems continues to grow, further enabling our economies of
scale across the life cycle of our entire unmanned systems
portfolio. Kratos’ range of UAS and quantities (mass to the fight)
will help to maintain American dominance in the air by bending the
cost curve to enable the U.S. to acquire and employ large numbers
of aircraft that challenge our adversary and force them to
recalculate their options. Our team is extremely proud to be
selected to design and develop the OBSS platform.”
The OBSS vehicle is intended to be an
affordable, highly modular conventional takeoff and landing
jet-powered UAS. The Kratos OBSS solution incorporates innovative
manufacturing techniques that enhance its ability to not only
provide significant performance for sensor extension missions for
manned jet aircraft, but also will accommodate significant
offensive weapons volume to also act as a weapons bay extension for
manned aircraft. OBSS is a new addition to the Kratos family of
low-cost Autonomous Collaborative Platforms (ACP) designed to
employ weapons, sensors, and other effects that generate
affordable, force multiplier combat power with a forward force
posture. Kratos’ industry leading digital engineering (DE)
framework for high performance jet UAS will be used to develop,
mature, leverage, and integrate system-ready technologies and
supplement its DE framework with prudent early ground and flight
demonstrations and experiments.
Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of
Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, said, “Kratos is
committed to disrupting the government contractor national security
market by providing rapid, agile, affordable, and relevant systems
to our defense customers. The recent selection of Kratos to develop
next-generation OBSS aircraft for our partner, the U.S. Air Force,
re-affirms our approach to treat affordability as a technology.
Kratos Ghost Works, which played a significant role in the design
of our OBSS system, has once again demonstrated that our real,
proven, digital engineering process, methodology, assets, and
infrastructure are optimized for affordable system development. At
Kratos, we develop products, not just PowerPoint presentations, and
we will continue to pursue affordable, innovative solutions to
support our USAF customer in the current challenging budgetary
environment.”
Kratos Unmanned Systems Division is a leading
provider of high performance unmanned aerial drone and target
systems for threat representative target missions to exercise
weapon, radar, and other systems; and tactical aerial drone systems
for strike/ISR and force multiplication missions.
About Kratos Defense & Security
SolutionsKratos Defense & Security Solutions,
Inc. (NASDAQ:KTOS) develops and fields transformative,
affordable technology, platforms and systems for United States
National Security related customers, allies and commercial
enterprises. Kratos is changing the way breakthrough technology for
these industries are rapidly brought to market through proven
commercial and venture capital backed approaches, including
proactive research and streamlined development processes. At
Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we specialize in
unmanned systems, satellite communications, cyber security/warfare,
microwave electronics, missile defense, hypersonic systems,
training, combat systems and next generation turbo jet and turbo
fan engine development. For more information, please
visit 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 27, 2020, and in subsequent reports on Forms
10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by
Kratos.
Press Contact:Yolanda White858-812-7302
Direct
Investor
Information:877-934-4687investor@kratosdefense.com
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