Kratos’ CEO Eric DeMarco disclosed the development of a new internally funded hypersonic drone, with a focus on affordability and possibly using air breathing propulsion technologies.
Kratos is working on yet another secret development program, this time a hypersonic drone. The info was disclosed by CEO Eric DeMarco during an interview with Aviation Week on Mar. 18, 2025. On the same day, the company also broke ground on a new hypersonic vehicle and payload production facility in Crane, Indiana, called the Hypersonic System Indiana Payload Integration Facility (IPIF).
DeMarco said that further details about the drone can’t be released yet, although a spokesperson later told The War Zone that the name will be released “at or near initial flight.” As in many of its programs, Kratos is focusing also on the hypersonic drone’s affordability.
In fact, the spokesperson added that, “Similar to Kratos Erinyes and Dark Fury Hypersonic Flyers, this new Kratos funded Hypersonic Drone initiative, included in Kratos Furies Family of Hypersonic Systems, is expected to be orders of magnitude less costly than any other hypersonic system or concept in existence today.”
Based on previous statements by the company, it is possible that the new mysterious drone might use air-breathing propulsion to achieve hypersonic speed. In 2019 Kratos acquired Florida Turbine Technologies, later renamed Kratos Turbine Technologies, with DeMarco saying that the company is “focused on developing advanced, affordable engines for a new class of hypersonic propulsion system.”
Additionally, DeMarco mentioned that the IPIF might possibly support vehicles with air-breathing propulsion. The detail was disclosed when Aviation Week asked if the IPIF would support only payloads for hypersonic glide vehicles powered by solid rocket motors.
The new facility will primarily support the U.S. Navy and Missile Defense Agency’s Multi-Service Advanced Capabilities Hypersonic Testbed (MACH-TB) program. For this program, Kratos has already unveiled two hypersonic vehicles, the Erinyes and Dark Fury glide vehicles, and the Zeus solid rocket motor. Additionally, Erinyes and Zeus have been demonstrated together during multiple test flights.
Kratos’ hypersonic programs
On Jan. 06, 2025, Kratos has signed a $1.5 billion contract, its largest ever, with the Department of Defense for a low-cost hypersonic testbed. The contract falls under Task Area 1 of the Multi-Service Advanced Capability Hypersonic Test Bed (MACH-TB) 2.0 program.
First initiated by the U.S. Navy in 2022, the MACH-TB program is now in its second phase, after the MACH-TB 1.0 resulted in over 25 flight tests and the creation a hypersonic boost glide testbed. The 2.0 phase will see that technology transition from design and concept demonstration to full-flight test capacity.
In December 2024, Kratos also announced it was awarded a $6.5 million contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to provide flight testing for hypersonic research supporting future weapon systems. The company said it will leverage flight proven, affordable hypersonic test beds and sounding rocket-based launch vehicles to fulfill various flight experiment requirements and validate modeling and simulation tools rapidly and affordably for future hypersonic flight testing.
Kratos also revealed last year a successful flight of its Erinyes hypersonic test vehicle for a Missile Defense Agency experiment. The vehicle flew for the first time in June 2024 and the company confirmed it went over Mach 5, which is considered the boundary of the hypersonic speeds range.
Kratos says it developed Erinyes in three years for under $15 million, with a mix of both internal investment and congressional funding. According to company officials, the system was developed in response to the DoD’s concerns about the hypersonic test infrastructure.
“With the recent successes of our low-cost Erinyes Hypersonic Flyer and Zeus Solid Rocket Motors, Kratos is a leader in the testing and fielding of hypersonic systems,” said Dave Carter, President of Kratos Defense and Rocket Support Services Division. “We are very excited to bring this unmatched expertise to the MACH-TB 2.0 program.”
Carter also highlighted the Erinyes’ affordability, as the vehicle without its rocket motor only costs around $5 million. He also added, well before the award of the new MACH-TB 2.0 contract, that he expects Erinyes to play a key role in the program moving forward, potentially flying experiments already in 2025 or 2026.
Among Kratos’ current development programs there is the Zeus rocket motor, designed to provide greater thrust and range at a lower cost. Similarly to Erinyes, the company sees the system as a response to a need for affordable launch vehicle propulsion and it will eventually be a propulsion option for Erinyes.
In the past, Kratos has also been involved in the Expendable Hypersonic Multi-Mission ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) and Strike Program, known as Mayhem, working with Leidos. The project saw the two companies supporting the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) development of an air-breathing hypersonic weapon system, however the current status of the program is uncertain.
