A test Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie unmanned combat aerial vehicle deployed last week in a first-ever joint force data link integration test during Emerald Flag 2024 last week.
The Marine Corps’ “Loyal Wingman” drone provides targeting data to F-35Bs and other aircraft.
“The XQ-58A effectively demonstrated its capabilities as a forward deployed sensing platform – providing critical threat targeting data to Marine Corps fifth-generation aircraft,” reads a Marine Corps press release on the integration effort.
Procured by the service under the Penetrating Affordable Autonomous Collaborative Killer, or the Portfolio (PAACK-P) program, which will serve as an experimentation bed for the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Unmanned Aerial System Expeditionary (MUX) Tactical Aircraft (TACAIR), the Marine Valkryie drones took flight for the first time last year. Successive flight tests occurred in February and September of this year, with the latter acting as preparation for the service’s data link integration effort at Emerald Flag.
Starting in 2020, the Air Force-led Emerald Flag series of exercises focuses on the joint integration of platforms across the services in a multi-domain environment. The exercise’s activities are centered around Eglin Air Force Base, which hosts numerous test and development components and a maritime testing range. The exercise has also been the site of previous force integration efforts by the Air Force, as seen in the 2022 iteration that included MQ-9A Reaper drones demonstrating their Satellite Communication abilities to conduct cross-country operations in support of Agile Combat Employment.
Elgin has also hosted the Marines for prior testing efforts of Valkyrie under PAACK-P. The base hosted the service’s second flight test, which was called a “key milestone in implementing Project Eagle,” the notional name for the Marine Corps yet-to-be-released 2024 aviation plan.
For the Marine Corps, this year’s iteration of Emerald Flag centered around the Valkyrie as a sensor and its ability to transmit what it saw back to both the service’s F-35B fifth-generation fighters and platforms from other services. Col. Derek Brannon, the branch head for the Cunningham Group within the office of the deputy commandant for aviation, highlighted the integration of Valkyrie with a four-ship of Lightning IIs and other aircraft via tactical data links and digital communication.
“The success of this flight test during Emerald Flag pushed the manned-unmanned teaming concept a step further for the entire Joint Force,” Brannon said.
Valkyrie’s Link-16 capabilities were previously tested and verified during the drone’s third flight test, which also marked the first time the Pentagon “controlled an air vehicle using offboard expeditionary methods.”
“Initial results indicate that the prototype met threshold requirements for autonomously exchanging relevant tactical information. These Link-16 capabilities significantly enhance the Marine Air-Ground Task Force’s ability to conduct integrated and joint operations, contributing to the Marine Corps’ mission to deter conflict and, when necessary, defeat enemies in complex and evolving scenarios,” reads a news release about the September test.
With this latest test, the Kratos drone should only have two more planned tests under the original PAACK-P requirements. The service’s tests aim to examine the viability of the “Loyal Wingman” platform to support the F-35B through autonomous electronic support, AI-enabled assistance to combat air patrols and delivering or supporting long-range fire missions. Kratos demonstrated the platform’s electronic warfare capability in April when one of the drones, in conjunction with two F-35Bs, conducted an electronic attack. The service did not publicly report this test despite it occurring before the third flight test in September.
“This test flight marked the capstone event for the PAACK-P Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve project and proved the tactical utility of uncrewed offboard sensing platforms,” said Lt. Col. Bradley Buick, future capabilities officer for Cunningham Group.