Kratos Awarded Defense Department Contract for Hypersonic Testing
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 1 day ago
0mins
Should l Buy KTOS?
Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly.NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS:The U.S. and Iran have "made progress" in nuclear discussions in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday, though "there are still a lot of details to discuss," Axios' Barak Ravid, citing a U.S. official. Following talks with President Trump's representatives Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, Iran offered to return in the next two weeks with detailed proposals "to address some of the open gaps in our positions," the official told Axios.CONTRACT:Kratos Defense & Security Solutionsannounced that it has been awarded a contract through the Department of War's Joint Hypersonics Transition Office to support test and evaluation of thermal protection systems for hypersonic vehicles. For this program, Kratos will leverage expertise in hypersonics to analyze various missions and flight environments to understand appropriate testing conditions. Kratos will establish standard test conditions and techniques to accelerate materials development and can be used as a baseline for other similar aerothermal test facilities.GROWING POLITICAL PROBLEM:When Anthropic was looking for backers for its $30B funding round, it approached 1739 Capital, a pro-Trump venture firm, Keach Hagey, Amrith Ramkumar, Deborah Acosta, and Vera Bergengruen of The Wall Street Journal. 1789 decided to not proceed with the investment due to ideological reasons, citing concerns with Anthropic leaders' history of critizing President Trump, several former Biden administration officials on its payroll, and its lobbying for AI regulation, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. While the company had no problem raising the capital, its spurned appeal shows the startup has a growing political problem. The company recently found itself in the Pentagon's crosshairs, with the Pentagon wanting to be able to use Anthropic and other AI tools for all lawful purposes, while Anthropic does not want its technology used for operations such as domestic surveillance and autonomous lethal activities.
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Analyst Views on KTOS
Wall Street analysts forecast KTOS stock price to rise
13 Analyst Rating
11 Buy
2 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 97.210
Low
80.00
Averages
108.69
High
150.00
Current: 97.210
Low
80.00
Averages
108.69
High
150.00
About KTOS
Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. is a technology, products, system and software company addressing the defense, national security, and commercial markets. It operates through two segments: Kratos Government Solutions (KGS) and Unmanned Systems (US). The KGS segment includes its microwave electronic products, space, satellite and cyber, training solutions, command, control, communication, computing, combat, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR)/modular systems, turbine technologies, and defense and rocket support services operating segments. The US segment consists of its unmanned aerial, unmanned ground, unmanned seaborne and related command, control and communications system businesses. Its KGS and US segments provide products, solutions and services for mission-critical National Security programs. KGS and US customers primarily include National Security-related agencies, the DoD, intelligence agencies and classified agencies, and others.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Market Sentiment Shift: He remarked that the cryptocurrency market is experiencing a “slaughter,” indicating a significant downturn in sentiment towards Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which may affect short-term investment decisions.
- Bitcoin Price Fluctuations: According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin's latest price is $66,119.28, down 1.86% over the past 24 hours but up 1.55% over the last week, reflecting market instability and cautious investor behavior.
- Institutional Access Fails to Boost Market: Despite institutional investors entering the market, Cramer's comments may exacerbate negative perceptions of Bitcoin, potentially impacting future investment inflows and overall market dynamics.
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- Hypersonic Technology Investment: The Pentagon's Joint Hypersonics Transition Office has awarded $68 million across six vendors to accelerate the development of next-generation technologies capable of exceeding Mach 5, significantly enhancing the U.S. competitive edge in hypersonic weaponry.
- Dark Eagle Deployment: The U.S. Army has begun fielding the Dark Eagle, the nation's first operational ground-launched hypersonic weapon, with delivery expected to complete in early 2026, marking a critical advancement in the U.S. hypersonic weapons program.
- Commercial-Aerospace Defense Intersection: Companies like Starfighters Space are gaining attention at the intersection of commercial aerospace and defense testing, with Starfighters recently completing wind tunnel tests for STARLAUNCH 1, validating its air-launched system design and strengthening its position in the hypersonic market.
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See More
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- Funding Injection: The Pentagon's Joint Hypersonics Transition Office has awarded $68 million to six vendors to accelerate the development of next-generation technologies capable of exceeding Mach 5, significantly enhancing the U.S. competitive edge in hypersonic weaponry.
- Weapon Deployment: The U.S. Army has begun fielding the Dark Eagle hypersonic weapon, with deliveries expected to complete in early 2026, marking the first operational use of ground-launched hypersonic weapons in the U.S., which could transform future battlefield dynamics.
- Commercial and Defense Synergy: Companies like Starfighters Space are positioned at the intersection of commercial aerospace and defense testing, attracting substantial private capital to enhance production capacity and flight cadence, reflecting strong market demand for rapidly advancing hypersonic technologies.
- Testing Progress: Starfighters Space recently completed wind tunnel testing for STARLAUNCH 1, validating separation behavior at Mach 0.85 and Mach 1.3, with results showing strong alignment with computational fluid dynamics predictions, laying a solid foundation for subsequent flight testing.
See More
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- Military Power Enhancement: The U.S. is significantly increasing its deployment of fighter jets and support aircraft in the Middle East, marking the largest air power presence since the 2003 Iraq invasion, potentially preparing for strikes against Iran.
- Carrier Deployment: A second aircraft carrier equipped with attack and electronic warfare jets has been deployed, further enhancing U.S. military presence in the region and indicating high vigilance towards potential conflicts.
- Command and Control Capability: Command-and-control aircraft are en route to the Middle East, essential for coordinating large-scale air operations, indicating U.S. readiness for a sustained air campaign.
- Strategic Decision Uncertainty: Despite President Trump being briefed on military options, he has shown a preference for negotiations, leaving the authorization for strikes against Iran uncertain, reflecting the complex geopolitical landscape.
See More
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- Earnings Forecast Discrepancy: Although UBS's FY 2028 EBITDA margin estimate for AVAV is 100 bps below consensus, the average analyst price target of $387 implies a forward EBITDA multiple of 44x, indicating optimistic market expectations for future growth.
- KTOS Growth Outlook: For Kratos Defense (KTOS), Parsons expressed optimism, with the UBS model projecting revenue and EBITDA to double and triple, respectively, by 2030, despite his 2027 EBITDA estimate being 9% below consensus.
- Historical Premium Challenge: Parsons noted that KTOS would need to increase EBITDA by 6x by 2030 to trade at its historical premium to prime defense contractors, or 9x to justify the average consensus price target of $125, highlighting challenges in its growth potential.
See More
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- Military Presence Expands: The U.S. has significantly increased its military footprint in the Middle East, deploying two aircraft carriers, multiple warships, hundreds of fighter jets, and advanced air defense systems, indicating preparations for a sustained military campaign in response to escalating tensions.
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See More
