https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...e-marine-corps
XQ-58 Valkyrie Is Now Flying With The Marine Corps
The U.S. Marine Corps has begun flying its
stealthy Kratos' XQ-58A Valkyrie drones, making it the second known operator of the type beyond the U.S. Air Force.
The Marines now plan to evaluate the drones as highly autonomous surveillance and reconnaissance assets,
electronic warfare platforms, and wingmen for crewed fighters, including in kinetic roles.
The first flight of a Marine XQ-58 took place on October 3, the service announced today. The drone was launched from Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
The test flight was conducted in cooperation with the Air Force's
40th Flight Test Squadron, part of the 96th Test Wing at Eglin, and the U.S. Navy's
Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), part of Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, or OUSD(R&E), has also been involved in the Marine Valkyrie program.
As can be seen in the video above, the XQ-58 is
a completely runway-independent design that uses a rocket-assisted takeoff method via a static ground-based launcher. The drone uses a parachute recovery system to get back on the ground, with inflatable airbags helping to cushion it when it touches down.
According to Kratos, the XQ-58, with its 30-foot overall length and 27-foot wingspan, has a maximum range of around 3,000 miles and a maximum launch weight of 6,500 pounds (including up to 600 pounds in
its internal payload bay and/or another 600 pounds under the wings). It has a subsonic cruising speed of Mach 0.72 and can hit an absolute top speed of around Mach 0.85.
"This XQ-58A test flight and the data collected ... not only help to inform future requirements for the Marine Corps," Scott Bey, a prototyping and experimentation portfolio manager at OUSD(R&E), said in a statement about the October 3 sortie. “It fuels continued joint innovation and experimentation opportunities and demonstrates the agility that can be achieved through partnership.”