Matthew Nelson
A subsonic aerial target system Kratos Defense and Security Solutions built for the U.S. Navy has reached initial operational capability status.
The military service will operate Kratos’ BQM-177A unmanned target aircraft from Port Mugu, Calif., Kratos said Tuesday.
BQM-177A, which is designed to emulate anti-ship cruise missile threats, can operate at a speed of more than 0.9 Mach and at a sea-skimming altitude of as low as 10 feet.
Capt. Molly Boron, the Navy’s aerial targets program manager, said in a statement the target drone “represents the current threats to our forces and delivers improvements in speed and maneuverability to the subsonic target inventory.”
Naval Air Systems Command expects the BQM-177A to perform both land and ship-based operations once the system reaches full operational capability.
