Kratos lands another military contract for its jet-powered drones. / DoD A subsidiary of aerospace defense contractor Kratos Defense & S...
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| Kratos lands another military contract for its jet-powered drones. / DoD |
Earlier this month, Kratos (Nasdaq: KTOS) won a $38.7 million order to build aerial target drones for the U.S. Navy. The company manufactures and designs the target drones in Sacramento County and several locations at McClellan Park. Kratos, which also has a design center in Roseville, employs more than 450 people locally, making it the sixth-largest manufacturer in the region.
With this latest contract, Kratos’ Sacramento operations have won more than $90 million in orders this year. Last year, Kratos took more than $100 million in a series of drone orders, and it won more than $117 million in a series of orders for tactical drones in 2018. Kratos is based in San Diego. It has manufacturing operations in Oklahoma, as well as Sacramento.
Steve Fendley, president of Kratos Unmanned Systems division, said in a news release the work under this contract will be conducted primarily in Kratos’ facilities in Sacramento and at Naval Base Ventura County’s Point Mugu naval test range.
The jet-powered target drones the Navy buys from Kratos are 17 feet long with a 7-foot wingspan. They can fly at just under the speed of sound at altitudes from 7 feet over sea level to 40,000 feet. The Navy uses them to train and test sailors to shoot down enemy aircraft, missiles and cruise missiles.
Kratos has received orders this year for at least 83 of the drones to be delivered to the Navy by the end of 2023. Kratos also makes target and tactical drones for the Air Force and other governments.