A Look At a Drone Dropping a Drone - The XQ-58 Valkyrie Releasing An Altius 600 UAS

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory announced that it successfully completed the sixth flight test of the XQ-58 Valkyrie, which involved the first release of a payload from the drone’s internal weapons bay over Yuma Proving Ground (Arizona) on March 26, 2021. The payload itself was another drone, the tube-launched Altius-600 Small Unmanned Aerial System (SUAS).

The AFRL did not provide much info, simply saying that the test was conducted in partnership with Kratos UAS and Area-I, the manufacturers of the Valkyrie and the Altius respectively, which designed and fabricated together with the AFRL the carriage system for the SUAS and developed the software to enable the successful release. After the release of the Altius, the XQ-58A Valkyrie completed additional test points to expand its demonstrated operating envelope, similarly to previous test flights.

“This is the sixth flight of the Valkyrie and the first time the payload bay doors have been opened in flight,” said Alyson Turri, demonstration program manager. “In addition to this first SUAS separation demonstration, the XQ-58A flew higher and faster than previous flights.”

The XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrates the separation of the ALTIUS-600 small UAS in a test at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground test range, Arizona on March 26, 2021. This test was the first time the weapons bay doors have been opened in flight. (Photo: Kratos/U.S. Air Force)

A U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightning II fly in formation with the XQ-58A Valkyrie low-cost unmanned aerial vehicle over the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground testing range, Ariz., during a series of tests Dec. 9, 2020. This integrated test follows a series of gatewayONE ground tests that began during the inaugural Department of the Air Force on-ramp last year in December. (Photo: Kratos/U.S. Air Force)