Kratos and GE Aerospace’s Small Engine Testing Gains Altitude
GEK800 Small Engine Designed to Power the Next Generation of Affordable Unmanned Aerial Systems and CCA-type Aircraft
AFRL, GE Aerospace, Kratos Defense, and Purdue Zucrow Labs Collaborating on Extremely Tight Testing Timeline
SAN DIEGO, Sept. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a Technology Company in the Defense, National Security and Global Markets, and GE Aerospace (NYSE: GE) announced that they have started altitude testing on its GEK800 small engine designed to power the next generation of affordable unmanned aerial systems and CCA-type aircraft. The testing began today at an altitude test facility at Purdue University’s Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories.
“Altitude testing is the next milestone in demonstrating our commitment to delivering high-performance, affordable, jet engines to support our defense customers,” said Stacey Rock, President of Kratos Turbine Technologies. “Our team is uniquely positioned to bring these advanced designs into high-rate production to support the rising demand for propulsion systems for cruise missiles and CCA-type aircraft. The GEK800 has been designed and engineered up front, from conception, to be manufactured in large quantities at a low cost.”
“The GEK800 engine has performed well and exceeded our expectations in its ground testing to date,” said Mark Rettig, Vice President of Edison Works Advanced Programs at GE Aerospace. “During altitude testing, we will collect data on the engine’s performance in a range of altitudes to assess its operability in simulated real-world conditions.”
“We are thrilled that the propulsion test infrastructure of our new lab created the opportunity to test the new GEK800 engine,” said Scott Meyer, Managing Director of Zucrow Laboratories. “The cooperation and comradery between the GE and Kratos teams, and our students and staff at Zucrow Labs, has been amazingly productive and a pleasure to be a part of. We are excited to have a role in the development of this critical new capability for our nation.”
The GEK800 is an 800-lb jet engine that could potentially power unmanned aerial systems (UAS), collaborative combat aircraft (CCAs), and missiles. Initially developed and ground tested by Kratos over the course of a decade, Kratos and GE Aerospace began working together in 2023 to complete additional development efforts and testing on the engine and have completed more than 50 engine starts in ground testing at Kratos and GE Aerospace testing facilities.
The altitude testing will focus on an altitude window between 5,000-35,000 feet and is anticipated to be complete by the end of the year. GE Aerospace, Kratos, and Purdue University have been collaborating for the last few months on the engine testing, which will be the first engine to test at newly expanded ZL9 test facility at Zucrow Labs.
“The collaboration between AFRL, GE Aerospace, Kratos Defense, and Purdue Zucrow Labs on an extremely tight timeline is outstanding. While demonstrating engine technology is clearly significant, the successful development of rapid and affordable altitude test capability is a crucial element in delivering on our nation's defense readiness,” said Chris Rawlings, Vice President, of Kratos Turbine Technologies Defense Programs.
In June, Kratos and GE Aerospace announced the signing of a formal teaming agreement to advance propulsion technologies for the next generation of affordable unmanned aerial systems and CCA-type aircraft. This collaboration strengthens the companies’ ongoing partnership and builds 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.
Kratos brings more than 25 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.
About Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) is a technology, products, system and software company addressing the defense, national security, and commercial markets. Kratos makes true internally funded research, development, capital, and other investments, to rapidly develop, produce and field solutions that address our customers’ mission critical needs and requirements. At Kratos, affordability is a technology, and we seek to utilize proven, leading-edge approaches and technology, not unproven bleeding edge approaches or technology, with Kratos’ approach designed to reduce cost, schedule, and risk, enabling us to be first to market with cost effective solutions. We believe that Kratos is known as an innovative disruptive change agent in the industry, a company that is an expert in designing products and systems up front for successful rapid, large quantity, low-cost future manufacturing which is a value-add competitive differentiator for our large traditional prime system integrator partners and also to our government and commercial customers. Kratos intends to pursue program and contract opportunities as the prime or lead contractor when we believe that our probability of win (PWin) is high, and any investment required by Kratos is within our capital resource comfort level. We intend to partner and team with a large, traditional system integrator when our assessment of PWin is greater or required investment is beyond Kratos’ comfort level. Kratos’ primary business areas include virtualized ground systems for satellites and space vehicles including software for command & control (C2) and telemetry, tracking and control (TT&C), jet powered unmanned aerial drone systems, hypersonic vehicles and rocket systems, propulsion systems for drones, missiles, loitering munitions, supersonic systems, space craft and launch systems, C5ISR and microwave electronic products for missile, radar, missile defense, space, satellite, counter UAS, directed energy, communication and other systems, and virtual & augmented reality training systems for the warfighter. For more information, visit www.KratosDefense.com.
About GE Aerospace
GE Aerospace is a global aerospace propulsion, services, and systems leader with an installed base of approximately 49,000 commercial and 29,000 military aircraft engines. With a global team of approximately 53,000 employees building on more than a century of innovation and learning, GE Aerospace is committed to inventing the future of flight, lifting people up, and bringing them home safely. Learn more about how GE Aerospace and its partners are defining flight for today, tomorrow, and the future at www.geaerospace.com.
Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the management of Kratos and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. All such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and Kratos undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Although Kratos believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve many risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from what may be expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of Kratos in general, see the risk disclosures in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Kratos for the year ended December 29, 2024, and in subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K and other filings made with the SEC by Kratos.
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