A super-secret Lockheed Martin Skunk Works project is no longer a secret after the company revealed its Vectis Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) – an autonomous stealth fighter drone developed entirely in-house with company funds.
Named after a running gag in the L'il Abner comic strip, Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works is paradoxically famous for being essentially a black box from which highly classified military aircraft regularly emerge, yet everybody in the aviation field has heard of it. Oddly, despite its notoriety, security is so tight that some of its senior members often talk like they've stepped out of a time capsule.
Officially known as the Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs (ADP), the Skunk Works was the home of the P-80 Shooting Star, F-104 Starfighter, U-2 Dragon Lady, A-12 Oxcart, SR-71 Blackbird, F-117 Nighthawk, and the X-59 QueSST – not to mention a very long list of experimental aircraft.
Now comes the Vectis. It hasn't flown yet and Lockheed says that the prototype is still under construction, but it is something of a surprise to find such an advanced pilotless fighter plane that could operate alongside an F-35 Lightning II emerging so far along in development.
No technical specifications have been released, but we do have enough to deduce some generalities. For one thing, it's a Group 5 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which the US Department of Defense defines as a UAV with a takeoff weight greater than 1,320 lb (600 kg) and that can operate at altitudes greater than 180,000 ft (5,500 m). No speed for the category is specified.
As for exact size, we're in the bigger-than-a-breadbox-smaller-than-an-elephant territory with the company saying that Vectis is smaller than a Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon but larger than a Common Multi-Mission Truck (CMMT) missile-like drone, so that's somewhere between 8 ft (2.4 m) and 48 ft (15 m). Give or take an inch.
From the released rendering, we can see that the Vectis has a modified delta wing, chines along the forward fuselage, and engine intakes and outlets set on top of the aircraft. In all, the lines show that there is a very definite emphasis on stealth as a major feature. Speed and range are not given, but it is fast enough to operate with an F-35 and has a range that is compatible with Indo-Pacific, European and Central Command theater requirements, so this is not a short-range job.
According to Lockheed, Vectis is a multi-mission platform capable of executing a range of operations. This includes precision strike; Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) targeting; electronic warfare; and offensive and defensive counter-air missions. Its autonomous systems mean it can not only act alone but as a teammate with a human pilot or other platforms.
It also seems as though Lockheed intends Vectis for the open market rather than trying to win an exclusive US military contract. Toward that end, the aircraft uses an open system architecture and common control systems for easy upgrading and avoiding "vendor lock." It also boasts what is claimed to be an affordable design thanks to advanced manufacturing and digital engineering techniques.
"Vectis is the culmination of our expertise in complex systems integration, advanced fighter development and autonomy," said OJ Sanchez, vice president and general manager, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. "We're not simply building a new platform – we're creating a new paradigm for air power based on a highly capable, customizable and affordable agile drone framework."
Source: Lockheed Martin
