Kratos, NCSIST Team Successfully Test Integrated Mighty Hornet IV System

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS), a leader in defense, national security and global markets, and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) today announced the successful test of the integrated Mighty Hornet IV Attack UAV, a revolutionary transformation of the MQM-178 Firejet target drone.

Following the months of planning, design, and subsystem tests in their respective facilities, the team successfully tested and validated the NCSIST-provided payload/mission system to confirm its operational capability with the Mighty Hornet IV aircraft without revisions to the design. This milestone established the baseline for flight testing later this year, for which the NCSIST technical team traveled to Kratos’ Oklahoma City design and production facility to finalize the requirement set and design this week.

Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division, said, “The success of this testing by the two organizations represents a significant milestone which enables progression to flight testing. It validates the technical approach, and possibly even more significantly, validates the value of collaborative effort of the technical organizations working together to realize the new system. This is a springboard for not only the Mighty Hornet IV effort, but also potential additional collaborative efforts with other Kratos aircraft and NCSIST systems and technologies.”

Kratos and NCSIST Team with the new Mighty Hornet IV in the foreground, and Valkyrie behind Kratos and NCSIST Team with the new Mighty Hornet IV in the foreground, and Valkyrie behind

The modified MQM-178’s high-speed capabilities, including a speed of Mach 0.8, high G maneuvering, and a service ceiling of greater than 35,000 feet, make it an ideal base platform for this transformation. The Mighty Hornet IV not only embodies cutting-edge technology but also benefits from proven performance in collaborative exercises. Recent demonstrations showcased the MQM-178’s reliability and adaptability, reinforcing its role in Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) and loitering munition scenarios and validating its impressive flight characteristics.

Ultimately, the objective is to have a large quantity of Mighty Hornet IV systems in Taiwan, delivering affordable mass, both as a deterrent, and ready for operational deployment. The collaboration and combination of the U.S. baseline uncrewed aircraft system, the Kratos Firejet, with the Taiwan NCSIST payload marks the collaboration between the two nations and organizations. By taking advantage of mature Kratos technologies, the timeline from concept to functional system has been unconventionally short; establishing this strategy as a key enabler for realization of practical near term tactical UAS and affordable mass.