According to the Pentagon's director of major acquisitions, the US Air Force could acquire the XQ-58 Valkyrie combat drone to accompany the F35 and F15XE fighter jets during perilous missions. Designed to be able to accompany fighter planes, with supersonic speed, a range exceeding 1500 km, a carrying capacity of 500kg and maneuverability comparable to that of a fighter, the XQ-58 Valkyrie, built by the American Kratos Defense, will represent an intermediate level before the arrival of the Skyborg, a program with much higher ambitions, but which is still in its infancy.
In addition, the Valkyrie offers a strong argument, capable of effectively making the decision in Washington: its particularly low price. Indeed, according to Kratos Defense, the drone should cost no more than a few million dollars once mass production is launched, a price much lower than the price of modern fighter jets, and even compared to other drones. modern combat vehicles, such as the MALE Reaper drone, exceeding $ 50 million per unit.
Finally, the F35 and F15XE are devices designed to interact with drones, have the communication and information processing capabilities for this, as well as a Human-Machine Interface adapted to present the crew with information and the control options necessary for mission control of combat drones.
If, for two decades, the United States maintained a proven technological lead in combat drones, this has stopped in recent years. For example, over the period 2014-2018, China exported more combat drones in the world than the United States, and Beijing finances no less than 7 different stealth combat drone programs simultaneously, including two intended to be embarked. on aircraft carriers. If Russia has not demonstrated exceptional capabilities in terms of MALE[efn_note]Medium Altitude Long Endurance[/efn_note] drones, it is currently testing the S-70 Okhotnik, a 20-ton combat drone with a very significant carrying capacity and intended to accompany the Su-57 in the near future.
With the rapid progress in the field of combat drones of its two main military adversaries, the United States is now forced to shake up its technological planning, and to accelerate the entry into service of this equipment, especially as it It is becoming increasingly obvious that the stealth of the F35 will only be effective for a few years, before the entry into service in large numbers of low-frequency radars, passive radars and other detection devices insensitive to this form of stealth.
In fact, and considering the attractive price of the equipment, it would be surprising if the US Air Force did not purchase the XQ-58 Valkyrie.