Kratos Defense revealed on August 18, 2026, that a US Marine took control of a Valkyrie collaborative combat aircraft beyond line of sight during an April 2026 test flight. Operating at a US Navy test range in southern California, the uncrewed jet flew alongside US Marine Corps F-35 fighters and an F/A-18 to execute joint electronic warfare objectives.
The aircraft launched from a zero-length launcher and returned autonomously to its recovery point. Control transferred from a ground control station to a Marine operator using an Autonodyne human-machine interface over a datalink. The disclosure followed an August 4, 2026 crash of an XQ-58 Valkyrie in Utah, which prompted Kratos to suspend flight testing.
