SAN DIEGO – Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a Technology Company in the Defense, National Security and Global Markets, today announced that Elroy Air, a leading developer of autonomous aerial cargo systems for middle-mile logistics and military resupply, has selected Kratos as Elroy Air’s exclusive U.S. manufacturing partner for the Chaparral in a new five-year strategic manufacturing agreement to accelerate expected high-volume production of the Chaparral hybrid-electric autonomous vertical takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) cargo drone.

“Kratos is an established and trusted producer of military UAS and is unique in their manufacturing focus on affordability. Kratos has produced and delivered thousands of uncrewed aircraft, with a well-established and reliable supply chain for these systems. Their expanded production capabilities make them the ideal partner to bring Chaparral to market at scale,” said Elroy Air CEO Andrew Clare. “This partnership accelerates our ability to deliver Chaparral systems to the many customers waiting for them, across both defense and commercial markets.”

Kratos, a proven leader in the development and production of affordable, jet-powered composite unmanned aircraft for the U.S. Department of Defense, recently expanded its manufacturing capacity to support next-generation drone production. This new partnership leverages Kratos’ deep expertise and scaled infrastructure to put the Chaparral into high-volume production.

Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos, said, “Kratos is the recognized industry leader for rapid development, production, and delivery of affordable, leading technology unmanned aerial drone systems, which is a perfect fit with Elroy Air’s UAV roadmap, incredibly large forecasted addressable market and related future high volume production plans, including for the U.S. military. Kratos provides Elroy an immediate and unique competitive, customer differentiating, value-multiplier advantage, with Kratos’ up and running manufacturing facilities, qualified and executing supply chain and relevant past performance qualifications. Kratos’ partnership with Elroy Air is a recent example of Kratos delivering relevant products, not promises, power points and renditions, with expected tangible value creation for our stakeholders.”