Lockheed Martin has updated the engine technology of a company-built unmanned air vehicle in an effort to increase the platform’s flight endurance capacity. The company said Wednesday it integrated a new 1803 engine into the Fury UAV and the upgrade is meant to help the aircraft operate for up to 15 continuous flight hours. Kevin Westfall, […] More

Altavian will integrate Lockheed Martin‘s gimbaled sensor payloads into the U.S. Army‘s RQ-20 Puma small unmanned aircraft systems under a $4 million subcontract. The Procerus Technologies Perceptor imaging sensor works to provide pilots stabilization and sharper images, dual-band imaging and laser illumination systems, Lockheed said Thursday. “Its advanced imaging and stabilization will enhance operations such as gathering intelligence, providing situational awareness, […] More

Lockheed Martin has obtained approval to export its autopilot system to international markets. The Kestrel autopilot and a version of Indago system are now controlled under the Export Administration Regulations, Lockheed said Wednesday. “The Kestrel 3.0 suite allows sensors to cross check each other for accuracy and fault detection,” said Kevin Westfall, director of unmanned solutions at […] More

Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new small unmanned aerial vehicle that the company built to be waterproof and to function with autonomous flight, landing and fail-safe features. “Vector Hawk” weighs four pounds, has a four-inch vertical profile and a software-defined radio that works to help carry out mobile mesh networking tasks, the company said Tuesday. “The Vector […] More

Lockheed Martin is moving into the operational phase of an unmanned aerial system the company is building after completing the program’s research and development stage. The company designed the Indago vertical take-off and landing quad-rotor for surveillance and emergency response operations, Lockheed said Tuesday. A handheld ground control station accompanying the unmanned system works to help […] More

Lockheed Martin has transitioned its small unmanned aircraft systems to new automation technologies in an effort to help operators execute missions. The mobile Ground Control Station software features an interface, touchscreen, joystick preferences and an operator manual, Lockheed said Wednesday. Kevin Westfall, director of unmanned services at Lockheed’s mission systems and training business, said the software […] More

Lockheed Martin has conducted long-range endurance tests on a company-built tactical group 3 unmanned aerial system ahead of low-rate production of the drone. The company said Wednesday its Fury UAS has recorded a flight endurance time of 12 hours while the vehicle operated nearly 100 pounds of payload such as electro-optical/infrared surveillance and multiple signals intelligence systems, satellite communications links and voice […] More

Lockheed Martin has awarded a subcontract to L-3 Communications to equip the U.K. defense ministry’s Desert Hawk III DDL digital platform with the MICRO Secure Digital Data Link. The companies said Dec. 1 that L-3’s MICRO SDDL will support communications for the small unmanned aircraft system’s command-and-control and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations. Kevin Westfall, director of LM MST’s unmanned solutions business, said that […] More