Targeting the delivery of a ‘loyal wingman’-type capability for the German air force before the end of this decade, Airbus Defence & Space has detailed a package of planned updates that will allow such an asset to work in combination with the service’s Eurofighter combat aircraft.
Providing an update on its uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft (UCCA) offering for the Luftwaffe, Airbus Defence & Space says it will fly two adapted Valkyrie aircraft – acquired from US partner Kratos Defense & Security Solutions – “later this year”.
Work to prepare the roughly 3t maximum take-off weight vehicles for flight testing is being advanced at Airbus Defence & Space’s Manching site near Munich, with the company on releasing an image of one of the single-engined jets on 13 March.
Airbus says its proprietary Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure mission system, which makes use of an artificial intelligence ‘brain’ named MindShare, is at the heart of its UCCA product.
That technology is “capable of coordinating entire mission groups by being distributed across many manned and uncrewed platforms”, it adds.
Airbus also reveals that it is working with Israeli company Rafael to add a “connectivity capability” to the Litening 5 targeting pod, which will enable the Eurofighter to serve as a “command aircraft” for UCCA vehicles.
“Along with minor updates to the Eurofighter’s avionics, these enhancements will significantly increase the aircraft’s lethality in combat,” the European company says.
Airbus and Kratos announced their CCA pact in July 2025, with a pledge to have a “combat-ready” platform available for operational use by 2029.
“Fully autonomous or commanded by a Eurofighter, the Valkyrie will be able to take on sensitive mission tasks that would pose too great a danger to the pilot,” Airbus states.
“For the German customer, Airbus and Kratos are initially focusing on a specific role to deliver credible combat air power on time and on target,” it adds, without elaborating.
Marco Gumbrecht, Airbus Defence & Space’s head of key account Germany, says that by working with Kratos, it can deliver “a proven flying uncrewed combat aircraft with a sovereign mission system that does not have to be developed from scratch in a time-consuming and costly manner”. In addition, he notes: “We are confident that we can do this at a very affordable price.”
The potential opportunity to supply Berlin with such a system also has attracted the attention of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which is promoting a version of its YFQ-42A Dark Merlin – currently in flight-testing as part of a US Air Force (USAF) competition – via its Bavaria-based General Atomics Aerotec Systems affiliate.
Anduril Industries also has joined forces with Germany’s Rheinmetall to promote the capabilities of its Fury CCA – the basis for the US company’s YFQ-44A offering to the USAF.
And German AI specialist Helsing and its subsidiary Grob Aircraft are developing the CA-1 Europa uncrewed combat air vehicle, with plans to fly the jet for the first time in 2027. Unveiled last September, the aircraft will be equipped with sensor technologies from Hensoldt.
