WASHINGTON — The Marine Corps on Oct. 3 completed its first flight of the unmanned aerial drone XQ-58A Valkyrie, the first publicized achievement the service has made since purchasing the UAS, also used by the US Air Force, back in January.
“This flight marks a key milestone in the Marine Corps’ Penetrating Affordable Autonomous Collaborative Killer – Portfolio (PAACK-P) program. Future test flights inform [the] Marine Corps XQ-58A Valkyrie requirements for the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Unmanned Aerial System Expeditionary (MUX) Tactical Aircraft (TACAIR),” the service said in a statement on Thursday.
The Marines said the aircraft performed “as expected,” and has at least six planned test flights to assess its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, potential to be augmented by artificial intelligence and “the effectiveness of autonomous electronic support to crewed platforms.”
Breaking Defense reported in January the service was purchasing XQ-58s following similar interest shown in the vehicle by the Air Force. Since then, the service has received two aircraft to support the PAACK-P program, according to the statement.
“The Marine Corps constantly seeks to modernize and enhance its capabilities in a rapidly evolving security environment,” said Lt. Col. Donald Kelly, Headquarters Marine Corps Aviation Cunningham Group and Advanced Development Team. “Testing the XQ-58 Valkyrie determines requirements for a highly autonomous, low-cost tactical UAS that compliments the need for agile, expeditionary and lethal capabilities in support of both the Marine Corps’ stand-in force operations in austere environments and the Joint Force.”
For the October flight, the Marine Corps worked with the Air Force’s 96th Test Wing, 40th Flight Test Squadron, which is based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and owns the two Valkyrie drones being used by the Air Force.
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Steve Fendley, president of Kratos’ unmanned systems division, which manufacturers the XQ-58, told Breaking Defense in January the XQ-58 was developed to “offer a pretty dynamic capability set in the tactical arena at almost unheard-of affordability or price level… I think that’s what really has interested the Air Force for years, and now the Navy [and] Marines.”