Kratos Completes Critical Design Review for Space Development Agency's Advanced Fire Control Ground Infrastructure (AFCGI) System

Successfully integrated and validated systems across a complex, multi-partner ground architecture

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq: KTOS), a technology company in Defense, National Security and Global Markets, has successfully completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) for the Space Development Agency’s Advanced Fire Control Ground Infrastructure (AFCGI) system. Kratos’ completion of the CDR with zero liens allows the program to continue an accelerated schedule and remain aligned with anticipated launch dates.

Kratos completed the AFCGI CDR only eight months after the program’s Preliminary Design Review, which itself was finished in just five months from contract award, underscoring the company’s ability to advance complex systems on a rapid timeline.

In 2024 Kratos was awarded a $116.7 million prime contract for the Advanced Fire Control Ground Infrastructure (AFCGI) program. AFCGI integrates advanced software, resilient ground systems and secure networks into a unified, operational cloud architecture supporting real-time fire control missions. The system delivers immediate, mission-relevant advantages to the warfighter. Achieving zero liens at CDR confirms that key technical risks, design challenges and open items have been fully resolved, enabling the program to proceed into implementation without material constraints.

Greg Caicedo, Senior Vice President of Kratos Space, said, “Completing the critical design review ahead of schedule highlights Kratos’ ability to deliver advanced, software-driven systems faster than traditional development models, enabled by our OpenSpace ground architecture. Kratos continues to invest in scalable, resilient capabilities that keep pace with operational and strategic demands.”

Kratos serves as the prime contractor for the AFCGI program, overseeing a multi-partner team responsible for delivering and operating ground segment capabilities for SDA’s Advanced Fire Control space vehicle demonstration systems. This includes management of a government-owned, contractor-operator (GOCO) demonstration environment and a secure cloud infrastructure supporting mission software and partner integration. Kratos’ scope spans program execution, systems engineering, integration, test, and ongoing operations across the full ground architecture. A key element of the program is the development of a Ground Resource Manager (GRM) for the FOO Fighter demonstration program (Fire-control On Orbit-support-to-the-war Fighter), designed to provide a scalable foundation for future Advanced Fire Control capabilities that may be incorporated into SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture.

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, advanced 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.