Christine Thropp
Kratos Defense and Security Solutions has received a one-year, $17.7 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for the design and development of an unmanned aerial system that can function as an off board sensing station.
The company said Tuesday Kratos Unmanned Systems Division’s OBSS drone work has option to extend to 15 more months for technology manufacturing and demonstration efforts that will bring the contract to its potential value of $49 million.
The OBSS program is in support of Air Force Research Laboratory’s Autonomous Collaborative Platforms technology maturation portfolio. The vehicle is envisioned to be a conventional takeoff and landing UAS that is jet-powered and highly modular.
Kratos’ unmanned platform is meant to serve as manned aircraft’s weapons bay or sensor extension. It will be developed using the company’s digital engineering framework.
The company will conduct work at its engineering and technology facilities in Texas, California and Oklahoma.
“Kratos Ghost Works, which played a significant role in the design of our OBSS system, has once again demonstrated that our real, proven, digital engineering process, methodology, assets, and infrastructure are optimized for affordable system development,” said Eric DeMarco, president and CEO of Kratos.
