Kratos, GE Aerospace sign teaming agreement

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., a technology company in the defense, national security, and global markets, and GE Aerospace announced a formal teaming agreement to advance propulsion technologies for the next generation of affordable unmanned aerial systems and Collaborative Combat Aircraft-type (CCA-type) aircraft.

“Kratos’ strategically important teaming agreement with GE Aerospace continues to rapidly advance and expand, with the GEK family of engines targeting certain of the most important, mission critical and highest priority needs and requirements of United States National Security,” says Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos. “At Kratos, affordability is a technology and delivering more capability for less cost as quickly as possible are key contributions we are bringing for truly industry leading GEK offerings with our partner and global leader GE Aerospace.”

“The formalization of this teaming agreement and initiation of development of these new engines mark another step forward in our dedication to providing affordable, adaptable, high-performance propulsion systems for the future force,” says Amy Gowder, President and CEO of Defense & Systems at GE Aerospace. “We’re thrilled to continue our collaboration with Kratos and accelerate development across various classes of unmanned systems.”

This collaboration strengthens Kratos’ ongoing partnership with GE Aerospace – building on last year’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance the development and production of small, cost-effective engines for unmanned platforms. The new teaming agreement expands on that MOU and provides the framework for the two companies to develop, manufacture, test, and field the GEK800 Engine, as well as collaborate on other low-cost expendable turbofan engines.

In addition to the joint work on the GEK800, the companies have commenced work on another new engine, the GEK1500. The engines under development support unmanned aerial systems (UAS), collaborative combat aircraft, and similar applications, positioning Kratos and GE Aerospace to offer affordable mass propulsion solutions across a range of next-generation defense applications for the Department of Defense.

Kratos brings more than 20 years of experience developing and producing small, affordable engines for UAS, drones, and missile platforms. GE Aerospace adds a century of expertise in propulsion technology and the ability to scale advanced designs into high-rate production, helping bridge the gap from prototype to deployment.