Taiwan Partners with Kratos on Jet-Powered Kamikaze Drone

• Kratos has confirmed it is working together with Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) on a derivative of its jet-powered MQM-178 Firejet target drone called the Chien Feng IV. The Chien Feng IV is said to be eyed primarily as a lower-cost, longer-range kamikaze drone, and NCSIST is reportedly looking toward potential export opportunities along with sales to the Taiwanese military.

United Daily News in Taiwan was the first to report on the Chien Feng IV this past weekend, citing comments from NCSIST. A government-owned organization, NCSIST conducts advanced military research and development and test and evaluation work. The drone is set to make its official public debut at the biennial Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition next month.

“We expect that by the end of this year, we will receive a sole-source contract for the Kratos Airwolf tactical jet drone, which could lead to a production contract in late 2026,” Kratos’ CEO Eric DeMarco had also said during a quarterly earnings call earlier this month.

Airwolf, also referred to as Tactical Firejet, is based on the MQM-178 design, as well.

DeMarco’s “comment was tied to two opportunities, this partnership [with NCSIST] being one of them,” Fendley also told TWZ.

Fendley declined to provide more details about Chien Feng IV, saying that more information would come at the exhibition in Taipei in September. United Daily News‘ report also offered few specifics, but said that NCSIST had described the drone as being able to serve as a “low-cost cruise missile.”

The Firejet/Airwolf family offers a logical starting place for a Chien Feng IV drone that skirts the increasingly blurry line between longer-range kamikaze drones and cruise missiles, as well as decoys.

Kratos says the 10.8-foot-long MQM-178 with its wingspan of 6.5 feet can carry around 70 and a half pounds of payload internally, as well as nearly 35 pounds more under each wing and an additional 20 pounds in pods on each wingtip. It can get up to speeds of 0.69 Mach, as well as fly at altitudes anywhere between 20 and 35,000 feet. Designed as a target to fire air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles at during training and testing events, Firejet can pull turns down to -2 and up to +9 Gs. The drone is launched via catapult, but no mention is made of it being designed to be recoverable.

Airwolf has the same physical dimensions and general mode of operation as Firejet, but has a reworked internal arrangement to better allow it to be configured for tactical mission sets, including acting as a ‘loyal wingman’ for crewed aircraft. Kratos says it is recoverable via parachute and has a maximum range of 400 nautical miles and a maximum endurance of 1.3 hours.

Kratos’ website also describes Airwolf as being “low signature,” but does not offer specifics. On top of its relatively small size to begin with, the drone’s carbon fiber composite construction would help its radar cross-section. Route planning involving a low-level flight profile masked by terrain features could also help it evade detection.

Top Photo: MQM-178 Firejet target drone

Source: The War Zone