After completing its inaugural flight in March, the XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator successfully completed all of its test objectives during a June 11 flight at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona.

The flight lasted 71 minutes.

“The XQ-58A is the first Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology flight demonstrator with (unmanned aircraft systems) technology to change the way we fly and fight, and build and buy,” says Doug Szczublewski, program manager.

The low-cost UAS was developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. The joint effort falls within AFRL’s Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technology portfolio, which seeks to break the escalating cost trajectory of tactically relevant aircraft.

There are a total of five planned test flights for the XQ-58A. Some of the objectives of these test flights include evaluating system functionality, aerodynamic performance, and launch and recovery systems.