Sacramento Drone Maker Gets $57M In Orders In One Week
Source: Sacramento Business Journal, Mark Amderson
Photo: A Kratos unmanned drone. The Sacramento division of the San Diego-based defense contractor won its second multimillion-dollar contract for military drones this week. (DENNIS MCCOY, SACRAMENTO BUSINESS JOURNAL)
The Sacramento division of a defense contractor won its second multimillion-dollar contract for military drones this week, Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. announced.
San Diego-based Kratos (Nasdaq: KTOS) said it won a $25.4 million order from the U.S. Navy for its jet-powered subsonic aerial target drones. This order follows another one the company announced June 4 for $31.9 million from the U.S. Air Force.
The company’s local operation has been growing its workforce with a string of orders over the past several years. The company employs more than 440 people locally, and is the sixth-largest manufacturer in the region. Kratos did not respond to calls seeking whether the company would have to expand employment in Sacramento as a result of the new orders.
Kratos, which builds jet-powered flight systems in Sacramento, has its Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems division in offices in Sacramento and Roseville. It builds the drone aircraft at McClellan Park. The company’s operations here are a legacy of Composite Engineering, a Sacramento company Kratos bought for $155 million in 2012.
Kratos said the Navy contract work will be performed in Sacramento, and it is expected to be delivered by March 2021.
The company’s remote-controlled miniature jet planes act as targets, simulating enemy jet fighters and incoming missiles to train crews of the Air Force and Navy. This Air Force order is expected to be delivered to the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida by the end of May 2021, Kratos said in a news release.