Lockheed Martin Builds Stealth Drones Despite Not Winning Air Force Contracts
In June, the U.S. Air Force awarded contracts for new Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) to two private companies—Anduril Industries and General Atomics—not including publicly traded defense firms like Lockheed Martin. While this initially seemed a setback, the Pentagon plans separate software contracts for CCA systems, with six vendors—including Lockheed—on the list of potential bidders. Despite not securing an initial hardware contract, Lockheed Martin is moving forward independently by building five of its own stealth drones called Vectis through its Skunk Works division. The first drone is already under construction and expected to fly in late 2027. Designed as a Group 5 aircraft similar in size to the MQ-9 Reaper,Vectis will be capable of surveillance, strike missions, and compatibility with other companies' autonomy software. Lockheed Martin hopes that by developing Vectis ahead of time, it can position itself for future contracts once CCA competitions expand. However, this strategy carries risk; similar past efforts have led to financial losses when no buyers emerged.
Topics: Anduril Industries Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) General Atomics Lockheed Martin U.S. Air Force