SAN DIEGO – Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS) has been working for the past year with GE Aerospace, part of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE), to jointly develop small jet engines. The two companies recently signaled they are ready to take the next step and move to full-scale production.
At the big Farnborough Air Show in England late last month (July 22), the companies announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding to partner on the development and production of small affordable engines that could potentially power unmanned aerial systems (UAS), collaborative combat aircraft, powered munitions and similar applications.
Kratos advanced its jet business in early 2019 by acquiring a majority stake in Jupiter, Florida-based Florida Turbine Technologies, also known as Kratos Turbine Technologies.
Kratos paid $33 million in cash and $27 million in common stock for a total of $60 million.
In addition to aerospace, General Electric has businesses in renewal energy and power generation equipment. It reported revenue of $68 billion in 2023, up from $58.1 billion in the previous year. For its part, Kratos had $1.04 billion in revenue in 2023, up from $898.3 million in the previous year.
In a joint statement, GE and Kratos laid out the progress both companies have made on a small affordable engine over the course of the last year. The engine initially was developed and ground tested by Kratos. Under the existing joint agreement, GE Aerospace and Kratos completed additional development efforts and are now conducting tests on the engine. The team plans to continue development on the current engine, which will undergo altitude testing next year at GE Aerospace’s test cell in Evendale, Ohio.
‘Significant Investments’ Cited
“Kratos has made significant investments in the development of our family of small, low-cost jet engines for jet-powered drones, missiles and powered munitions that lead in technology and capability,” said Eric DeMarco, president and CEO of Kratos, in a statement distributed by the companies. “We consider our relationship with GE Aerospace as invaluable based on our expectation and forecast for the potential future production of thousands of turbofan engines for multiple customers.”
GE Aerospace has an installed base of approximately 44,000 commercial and 26,000 military aircraft engines, and a global team of 52,000 employees.
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions
FOUNDED: 2010
CEO: 1994 as Wireless Facilities Inc.
PRESIDENT & CEO: Eric DeMarco
HEADQUARTERS: Scripps Ranch
BUSINESS: Defense and aerospace contractor
REVENUE: $1.04 billion in 2023
STOCK: KTOS (Nasdaq)
EMPLOYEES: Approximately 3,900 full-time, part-time and on-call employees worldwide
WEBSITE: kratosdefense.com
CONTACT: 858-812-7300
NOTABLE: In addition to its joint work with GE, Kratos is a member of the team developing the Symphony engine for the Boom Supersonic airliner. Hardware testing on the engine is underway.
