Kratos Conducts First Test Of Mysterious Stealth Drone
Tyler Durden
Aviation Week revealed that US-based Kratos Defense successfully tested its Thanatos stealth Uncrewed Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) prototype within the last few months.
Steve Fendley, president of Kratos’ Unmanned Systems Division, told the aviation news website that the company’s Thanatos stealth UCAV was successfully tested in recent months. However, he declined to provide specifics about the test or its location.
“Kratos unveiled the Thanatos design in November 2023 when company CEO Eric Demarco said in an earnings report that the company hoped to have a contract within a year. The design shows what appears to be a single-engine UCAV with two inlets and a single exhaust,” Aviation Week said, adding, “The aircraft does not have a vertical tail and horizontal stabilizers, showing the company’s stealth approach.”
On Dec. 7, during an interview at the Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, Fendley said: “The air vehicle for Thanatos is now effectively proven. We’re not trying to figure out does the airplane fly, we’re now trying to figure out does the integrated system tick the mission box.”
Kratos has indicated that it seeks a contract with an undisclosed customer for Thanatos. While the company has not confirmed its client, the USAF has been a potential customer because of its Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
As ‘dronegate‘ continues to escalate for the federal government amid mysterious drone sightings across New Jersey and New York, the latest test flights of super secretive UCAV by Kratos imply that ‘Tic Tac’-shaped unidentified flying objects reported by fighter pilots over the years may not be aliens, but instead top-secret stealth drones.
