Kratos to be Exclusive U.S. Manufacturer for the Elroy Air Chaparral VTOL Cargo Drone

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a Technology Company in the Defense, National Security and Global Markets, today announced that Elroy Air, a leading developer of autonomous aerial cargo systems for middle-mile logistics and military resupply, has selected Kratos as Elroy Air’s exclusive U.S. manufacturing partner for the Chaparral in a new five-year strategic manufacturing agreement to accelerate expected high-volume production of the Chaparral hybrid-electric autonomous vertical takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) cargo drone.

“Kratos is an established and trusted producer of military UAS and is unique in their manufacturing focus on affordability. Kratos has produced and delivered thousands of uncrewed aircraft, with a well-established and reliable supply chain for these systems. Their expanded production capabilities make them the ideal partner to bring Chaparral to market at scale,” said Elroy Air CEO Andrew Clare. “This partnership accelerates our ability to deliver Chaparral systems to the many customers waiting for them, across both defense and commercial markets.”

Kratos, a proven leader in the development and production of affordable, jet-powered composite unmanned aircraft for the U.S. Department of Defense, recently expanded its manufacturing capacity to support next-generation drone production. This new partnership leverages Kratos’ deep expertise and scaled infrastructure to put the Chaparral into high-volume production.

Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos, said, "Kratos is the recognized industry leader for rapid development, production, and delivery of affordable, leading technology unmanned aerial drone systems, which is a perfect fit with Elroy Air’s UAV roadmap, incredibly large forecasted addressable market and related future high volume production plans, including for the U.S. military. Kratos provides Elroy an immediate and unique competitive, customer differentiating, value-multiplier advantage, with Kratos’ up and running manufacturing facilities, qualified and executing supply chain and relevant past performance qualifications. Kratos’ partnership with Elroy Air is a recent example of Kratos delivering relevant products, not promises, power points and renditions, with expected tangible value creation for our stakeholders.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Elroy Air to produce their industry-leading drone for the dual-use market,” said Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division. “Elroy Air’s market opportunity for Chaparral is already large and continuing to grow. With this growth, Kratos is ideally suited to transition the system to production. The Kratos team is the best in the world at establishing UAS production lines and optimizing affordability.”

Chaparral is designed to autonomously transport up to 300 pounds of cargo over 300 miles, affordably bridging critical logistics gaps for military resupply, disaster relief, and commercial express delivery. The vehicle’s unique hybrid-electric powertrain enables rapid refueling, extra power for recharging batteries and powering payloads in cruise flight, and longer-range cargo transport than similar-sized battery-electric aircraft.

Kratos will perform initial production of Chaparral at their Sacramento, California aircraft production facility and over time, transition to high-rate production at Kratos’ facilities in Oklahoma City. These efforts are expected to bring aerospace jobs to both regions and expand the current supply chain infrastructure that includes many other states across our nation. The first production Chaparral aircraft are planned to be built in 2026.

“Kratos’ proven ability to produce large, composite drones in high volumes makes them the perfect partner to help us scale production of the Chaparral,” said Dave Merrill, Elroy Air's Founder and Executive Chairman. "Our customers are eager to expand their operations with our systems, and Kratos' deep production expertise and track record will enable us to deliver robust, world-class Chaparral vehicles in high volumes.”

Kratos and Elroy Air will have their unmanned aircraft systems on display together at the upcoming Miramar Air Show held September 26-28 at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California.