PATUXENT
RIVER, Md., Nov. 7, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) collaborated with the
U.S. Navy and General Atomics (GA) in a first-ever live control
flight demonstration of an uncrewed system by the Unmanned Carrier
Aviation Mission Control Station (UMCS).
Powered by the Skunk Works® MDCX™ autonomy platform,
the UMCS controlled a GA MQ-20 Avenger uncrewed air system (UAS) as
it completed a live fly mission. This demonstration is a pathfinder
that helps to advance the complex technology necessary to enable
crewed and uncrewed teaming as envisioned for programs such as CCA
and others.
The flight test is a significant milestone in the development of
UMCS, setting the stage for the Navy's future unmanned aviation
operations.
MDCX™ enabled the U.S. Navy Air Vehicle Pilots at
Patuxent River, Maryland to
control the MQ-20 during its flight in California.
"Skunk Works is proud to collaborate with the Navy to bring its
Carrier Air Wing of the Future vision to life," said John Clark, vice president and general manager,
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. "The MDCX made it possible to rapidly
integrate the MQ-20 'autonomy core' with the UMCS, demonstrating
common control capability and third-party platform
integration."
"Autonomous collaborative platforms that are mission capable
with technologies that have been demonstrated at high readiness
levels and the maturation of those technologies is just one of the
focus areas for GA-ASI," said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. "This collaboration with the
USN and Lockheed Martin advances the UMCS's beyond line-of-sight
capabilities, while demonstrating the maturity of our Tactical
Autonomy Core Ecosystem (TacACE)."
"This was a huge step for unmanned naval aviation," said Lt.
Steven Wilster, MQ-25 AVP. "This
demo showcased UMCS's first live control of an unmanned air
vehicle, and it was great to be part of history in the making. The
team is paving the way for integrating critical unmanned capability
across the joint force to combat the high-end threat our
warfighters face today and in the future."
The U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps are collaborating via
a Tri-Service Memorandum of Understanding on critical sub-systems
for CCA platforms. The Navy leads the U.S. Department of Defense in
developing a common control architecture and ground control station
(GCS) for these systems. This work is being done in collaboration
with Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, leveraging decades of operational
experience delivering GCSs underpinned by the U.S. government's
Open Mission Systems architecture for third-party platform
integration for optimal interoperability.
The Navy will refine UMCS's requirements based on data from this
demonstration and conduct further flight tests to advance
command and control technologies, autonomy and crewed-uncrewed
teaming.
About Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin is
a global defense technology company driving innovation and
advancing scientific discovery. Our all-domain mission solutions
and 21st Century Security® vision
accelerate the delivery of transformative technologies to ensure
those we serve always stay ahead of ready. More information
at Lockheedmartin.com.
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SOURCE Lockheed Martin Aeronautics