The U740 completed its first European flight on 29 September. Airbus says the test clears a path toward 2029, but the MARS mission software and Eurofighter teaming remain for later trials.
Airbus and Kratos announced on 12 October that their U740 Valkyrie had completed its first flight in Europe. Reuters dates the flight to 29 September at an undisclosed test facility in northern Europe. Airbus described it as the first flight of a collaborative combat aircraft in Europe, a company claim also reported by Janes.
The aircraft used rocket-assisted take-off, flew at different altitudes and reached speeds up to Mach 0.8. Airbus said the crew also changed its mission while airborne and that all planned objectives were met. No detailed test report, flight duration or independently measured performance data accompanied the announcement.
The most important qualification is what the flight did not test. The Kratos-built aircraft did not yet carry Airbus's Multiplatform Autonomous Reconfigurable and Secure mission system, known as MARS. Airbus intends that software and hardware package to manage missions, data and collaborative operations under European control.
Airbus Defence and Space chief executive Michael Schoellhorn told Reuters that a MARS-equipped flight is planned for the first quarter of 2027, followed later that year by a flight paired with a Eurofighter. Those are programme targets rather than completed demonstrations. The September sortie primarily established that the airframe could be operated within the relevant European test and regulatory environment.
Airbus and Kratos are offering the U740 as a faster route to an operational uncrewed collaborative combat aircraft for Germany and other European users by 2029. Their approach combines an existing US-designed airframe with a European mission system instead of developing both elements from the beginning.
Germany has not published a production contract or final requirement for the aircraft. Schoellhorn estimated a German need for about 500 collaborative aircraft and put the Valkyrie's unit cost near €20 million, but Reuters reported that the German Air Force is still defining whether it wants air-to-air, air-to-ground or electronic-warfare roles. Those figures are therefore an industry estimate and proposal, not an approved fleet plan.
Flying the airframe in Europe reduces one category of programme risk, especially after earlier European military-drone projects encountered certification obstacles. It does not yet validate the feature that makes the U740 strategically distinctive: a European-controlled mission system coordinating an uncrewed combat aircraft with a crewed fighter.
The next evidence to watch is a MARS-equipped flight, safe exchange of mission data, Eurofighter teaming and published military acceptance criteria. Funding, order quantities, production location and the division of control over US airframe technology and European mission software also remain unresolved. Until those milestones are met, the flight is best understood as an enabling test—not a combat-ready system or a procurement decision.
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DWN interpretation is identified in the text. This is not original field reporting or independent technical validation. Historical background retains its original dates; a later expansion date does not turn an old announcement into new news.