Kraus Hamdani Aerospace’s $270 million contract from US Air Forces Central for its K1000ULE drone still appears in no official record, six months after the company announced it. The Air Force has not confirmed the figure.
The company announced the “single-source” contract on 7 April. A week later Stars and Stripes reported that the Air Force had not confirmed it and that no Defense Department listing existed. A company spokeswoman said federal listings could take up to 30 days.
What the records show
One federal record matches. On 27 March the Air Force’s 20th Contracting Squadron awarded Kraus Hamdani a sole-source contract, FA480326D0001, for K1000ULE equipment, software licences and training. It is funded through a detachment of the 609th Air Operations Center, which runs AFCENT’s air war.
USAspending gives the contract a ceiling of $45 million; HigherGov, a contracts database, shows $51 million after an increase. Four orders total $21.7 million, the largest $10.05 million in April. Ordering runs to March 2027.
The company has not said whether this is the contract it valued at $270 million.
The drone
The K1000ULE is a small fixed-wing drone with solar cells in its wing. Kraus Hamdani says it weighs up to 40 pounds, reaches 46 mph and 20,000 feet, and is launched by two people. The company says its software rides rising air so the motor can stay off up to 80% of the time.
The US Army bought K1000ULEs for its 1st Multi-Domain Task Force and special operations under a $20 million award in 2024, The Defense Post reported. In July, Panama’s public forces received the drone through a US foreign military sale.
