Lockheed Martin Skunk Works has taken the wraps off Vectis, an autonomous stealth drone capable of acting as a loyal wingman to next-generation fighter jets.
Pitched as part of America’s collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) family, Vectis is a Group 5 unmanned aerial vehicle, putting it in the same size class as heavyweights like the MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-4C Triton.
It can carry out precision strikes, run electronic warfare missions, or plug into a broader intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) network.
With the ability to seamlessly integrate with modern aircraft such as the F-35, the new drone can extend mission range and enhance force projection across both the Indo-Pacific and European theaters.
‘Best in Class’
Vectis will leverage Lockheed’s experience in stealth development, with the company touting it as a new benchmark for survivability among CCAs.
The drone also takes a different formula for combat UAVs: moving away from expendable platforms toward affordable systems tough enough to endure and return from high-threat missions.
That balance of survivability, modularity, and cost is intended to give operators the option to scale up numbers without sacrificing capability.
“Vectis is the culmination of our expertise in complex systems integration, advanced fighter development and autonomy,” said Skunk Works Vice President OJ Sanchez.
“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.”
Scalable Autonomy
While details of the drone’s top speed and engine were not disclosed, it reportedly features an open system that allows different sensors and software to be fitted with ease.
This allows Vectis to be customized further according to specific mission requirements, enabling functionality in air-to-air, air-to-ground, and ISR operations.
“We’re building in that kind of autonomy, that flexible autonomy, if you will, so that we can work with more countries, more partners, to really listen to what their needs are,” Sanchez said, as quoted by Breaking Defense.
“That flexibility has been demonstrated through multiple demonstrations. Now we’ll go out and build it, and we’ll work to prove it in the open air,” he added.
Vectis’ development is currently underway, with the company projecting its first flight to commence by the end of 2027.
