How to buy Kratos Defense (KTOS) stock from India

Yes, an Indian resident can buy Kratos Defense & Security Solutions — legally, in US dollars, under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS). KTOS trades on NASDAQ. It pays no dividend. Kratos is the most important unmanned combat aircraft company in the US defense industrial base — the company building the affordable, attritable autonomous aircraft that will fly alongside (and eventually ahead of) crewed fighters.

The 30-second version

• Legal and simple. Buy KTOS via Vested, INDmoney, or Interactive Brokers India.
• No dividend. No US withholding or Form 44 complexity.
• India tax: hold more than 24 months → 12.5% LTCG; shorter hold → slab rate. Section 112.
• Estate-tax trap: US-situs asset — above $60,000 of total US-situs assets, up to 40% US estate tax, no treaty relief.
• Why it's interesting: The US Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program — autonomous wingmen for F-35s and F-22s — moved to production contract phase in 2025 with Anduril and General Atomics as the two winners. Kratos was not selected for CCA Phase 1, but its XQ-58A Valkyrie programme remains active, its BQM aerial target business is growing with missile test demand, and it is positioned for CCA Phase 2 and export programs. The $37.3B FY27 drone budget is the largest in history.

Quick facts

Can an Indian resident buy it?	Yes — fully legal under the LRS
Ticker / exchange	KTOS / NASDAQ
How	IBKR, Rovia, INDmoney, or Vested
Minimum	A fraction of one share
Dividend	None
India tax on gains	12.5% LTCG after 24 months; else your slab (Section 112)
Estate-tax risk	US-situs above $60k → up to 40%, no treaty relief
Annual compliance	Schedule FA every year you hold

How to buy it — 3 steps

1. Open an account and finish KYC. Use IBKR for the widest access and best execution, Rovia for a combined RSU + LRS experience, or INDmoney / Vested for a simple India-funded flow.
2. Fund via the LRS. Cap: $250,000/year. 20% TCS above ₹7 lakh — a creditable prepayment, not a permanent cost.
3. Place the order. KTOS is sensitive to defense contract announcements, DoD budget news, and CCA program updates. Stagger entries; the stock can move 15–25% on a single program win or loss announcement.

What Kratos actually is

Kratos Defense builds unmanned systems across two core categories:

Unmanned Systems (high-growth segment):

• XQ-58A Valkyrie: A low-cost (~$3M per unit target) autonomous combat aircraft with a 3,000-mile range, Mach 0.9 speed, and internal weapons bay. Designed to be "attritable" — risked in high-threat environments that a crewed aircraft cannot enter. Flew as an autonomous wingman alongside F-22 Raptors in 2024 exercises. Kratos lost the CCA Phase 1 contract to Anduril and General Atomics in 2025, but the Valkyrie program continues through Air Force Research Laboratory funding and potential export/allied nation programs.
• BQM-167 Skeeter: Supersonic aerial target drone used by the US military to train air defense systems and test missiles. The US and allied forces are buying missile defense systems at record rates (Patriot, THAAD, SM-6) — every battery that activates requires aerial targets to train against. Kratos is the primary supplier.
• UTAP-22 Mako: Smaller, subscale tactical unmanned combat aircraft for electronic warfare and weapons testing.

Government Solutions (~30% of revenue): Satellite ground systems, microwave electronics for radar and electronic warfare, and C5ISR (command, control, communications, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance).

Q1 2026 revenue: approximately $320 million (+18% YoY). Unmanned Systems growing faster than Government Solutions. Still marginally profitable — operating margin ~5%, reinvesting heavily in next-generation UCAS development.

The tax that actually matters

No dividend means a clean capital-gains picture:

Holding period	Treatment	Rate
24 months or less	Short-term	Your slab rate
More than 24 months	Long-term	12.5%, no indexation

Full rules: how US stocks are taxed in India.

The $60,000 estate-tax trap

Directly-held KTOS is a US-situs asset. Above $60,000 of total US-situs holdings at death, US estate tax of up to 40% applies — no India-US treaty protection. See the estate-tax trap guide.

Buy KTOS, or get drone exposure through AVAV or defense ETFs?

If you want…	Best route
Unmanned combat aircraft + aerial targets bet	KTOS directly
Tactical drones + loitering munitions (Switchblade)	AVAV (AeroVironment)
Broad defense exposure	ITA (iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF)
Full drone investment picture	Drone stocks guide for Indian investors