# U740 Valkyrie by Airbus

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/aviation/u740-valkyrie
Frontier: [Aviation](https://technooptimist.io/aviation.md) · Field: Electric & hydrogen planes · Company: [Airbus](https://technooptimist.io/companies/airbus.md)
Stage: Proto (2 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: facts checked 2026-10-17
Goal: Give Europe a combat-ready uncrewed wingman for crewed fighters, with the mission software kept under European control. A cheap, expendable partner changes how fighter air forces are sized.
Status: First flight in Europe completed in October 2026; mission-system trials are next.
Next milestone: Flights with the Airbus MARS mission system fitted

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | First flight in Europe (rocket-assisted takeoff, no runway) | Oct 2026 |   |
| Current | Flights with the Airbus MARS mission system fitted |   |   |
| Planned | Combat-ready version offered to Germany and Europe | 2029 |   |

## Upcoming events

- **2029**: Combat-ready version offered to Germany and Europe

## Current obstacles

- **Autonomy not yet flown**: The first European flight did not carry Airbus' MARS mission system, so autonomous mission execution is still untested.

## Spec sheet

| Spec | U740 Valkyrie | Provenance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Top speed | Mach 0.8 | reported |
| Range | more than 5,000 km | reported |
| Wingspan | 8.2 m | reported |
| Max takeoff weight | about 3,000 kg | reported |

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## About Airbus

Airbus designs commercial aircraft, helicopters, and space systems. It operates three divisions: commercial airplanes, defense/space, and helicopters.

- Largest commercial aircraft maker with 182,000 employees worldwide.
- ZEROe hydrogen airliner pushed from 2035 to the 2040s (Feb 2025); the A380 fuel-cell flight test was cancelled.

- Founded: 1970
- Headquarters: NL, FR
- Status: public
- Listing: EADSF (OTC)
- Valuation: $165B (market cap, 2026-10)
- Staff: ~182,258
- Website: https://www.airbus.com
- People: Guillaume Faury (Chief Executive Officer)
- Partners, customers, investors: MTU Aero Engines (partner)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/airbus.md

## Related programs

More from Airbus:

- [ZEROe](https://technooptimist.io/aviation/zeroe.md) (Research)
- [Next-Generation Single Aisle (A320 successor)](https://technooptimist.io/aviation/next-generation-single-aisle.md) (Research)

Everything in Aviation: https://technooptimist.io/aviation.md

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