Lockheed boosts bet on Skunk Works’ Vectis stealth drone
Lockheed now plans to build five Vectis prototypes, with the first on track to fly in 2027.
Lockheed’s Skunk Works reveals Vectis stealth drone, eyeing first flight in 2027
An executive from the secretive development lab said the drone, expected to fly in two years, wasn’t designed for any particular competition, but didn’t rule out the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.
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One of the world’s most versatile attack planes is taking on the counter-UAS mission
An airborne layer pushes drone engagements farther from defended assets and changes the cost-per-kill equation.
Eyeing future CCA missions, Navy teams with Lockheed, GA to test new drone control system
“This was a huge step for unmanned naval aviation,” said unmanned pilot Lt. Steven Wilster.
Lockheed investing $100M into F-35 controlled combat drones under ‘Project Carrera’
“The underlying behaviors, the autonomy, the way in which the rest of the ecosystem works together — that is exactly what we want to uncover in these series of experiments, to understand how you would actually field this type of capability," said a Lockheed executive.
All-Domain Demo Links U-2, F-35 & F-22
The demonstration, dubbed Project Hydra, was partially funded by the Air Force and the Missile Defense Agency, says Lockheed Martin's Dan Markham.
Air Force Drone Plan May Rile MQ-9 Champions
"This is a new effort, as the expanded mission now goes beyond a strict MQ-9 replacement," an AFLCMC spokesperson said. "This endeavor serves to explore concepts that address capability gaps of legacy platforms against increasingly sophisticated threats in denied, contested, and highly contested environments."
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Three exercises that proved a new approach to C-UAS
Architecture that linked sensors, C2, RF effects, and lasers into a distributed c-UAS kill chain.
Navy Backing Off 355 Ships, But Closer on Refueling Drone
There was some good news, and some bad news, for the Navy on Monday.
U-2 Expert Says Global Hawk Just Can’t Compare
Chris Pocock may know more about the U-2 than anyone who doesn’t possess a very high security clearance. He’s written four books about the planes and is passionate about the black beauties. Here’s his take on whether Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk can rival or surpass the capabilities of the U-2. Read on. The Editor. Northrop […]
New T-X Airplanes Would Add $1B To Trainer Bill: Lockheed
UPDATED: Adds Force Comment WASHINGTON: Lockheed Martin is pressing the Air Force to change how it evaluates T-X bids, arguing that new aircraft will cost the service close to $1 billion more over six years and delay Initial Operating Capability by several years. The calculus behind this assertion appears pretty simple. New aircraft require structural […]
DARPA Do-It-All Drone Among New VTOLs Nearing Flight
A bevy of new vertical take off and landing (VTOL) aircraft conceived to take the military beyond the speed, range and altitude limits of helicopters are scheduled to fly over the next two years. None looks more like science fiction becoming science fact than a sort of flying candy crane formerly known as “Transformer.” What is now […]
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Island surge: the Army’s Next Generation Command and Control in action
Lightning Surge exercises are turning soldier feedback on NGC2 into operational software changes in days, not years.
Will Lockheed Build A Stealthy U-2 Successor?
PALMDALE, CALIF.: Lockheed Martin is exploring building a stealthy successor to the U-2 as an answer to Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk and the U-2’s impending retirement. Why a stealthy reconnaissance aircraft? Neither the U-2 nor Global Hawk can operate for long in what the military calls contested airspace. Ever since Gary Powers was shot down […]
U-2 Hits 60; A Glimpse of Where It Was Built
PALMDALE, CALIF: The mountains are dry. The spaces are vast. The population is small. You wouldn’t think it to look around from the center of town, but this place hosts a remarkable array of the world’s smartest people who design and build America’s weapons. You get a few hints of the history of Palmdale as […]
Bombardier Joins Lockheed, Raytheon For JSTARS Recap Team
UPDATED: Raytheon’s Yuse Pledges To Meet Or Beat JSTARS Radar KPPs PARIS AIR SHOW: Canada-based Bombardier is joining the Lockheed-Raytheon team to build a replacement for the aging JSTARS (Joint Surveillance Targeting and Attack Radar System) aircraft, Lockheed Martin announced today. The incumbent, Northrop Grumman, announced last week that it would team with General Dynamics, Gulfstream, and […]
Lockheed Hands Off Hybrid Airship To Commercial Reseller
PARIS AIR SHOW: After investing 20 years, substantial amounts of cash and using the time of some of its vaunted and scarce Skunk Works engineers, Lockheed Martin today announced it is handing off its Hybrid Airship to a commercial reseller. While Orlando Carvalho, head of Lockheed’s mighty aeronautics business, made clear to me that the […]