Overview
- Lockheed disclosed Monday that it will build four additional Vectis airframes, bringing the total planned prototypes to five, and said the first prototype remains on track for a first flight by the end of 2027.
- Vectis is a Group 5 collaborative combat aircraft designed as an autonomous, multi-mission drone with a tailless lambda planform, internal weapon bays, and a top-mounted (submerged) engine inlet to reduce drag and foreign-object ingestion.
- Reports identify a Williams International FJ44 turbofan for the prototype and Lockheed says the aircraft can team with crewed fighters using its MDCX autonomy command-and-control software.
- Skunk Works is funding the effort internally and is using an unbroken digital design thread and a minimal tooling determinate-assembly approach that the company says cuts touch labor and raises first-pass yield by large margins.
- No customer, contract award, or unit price has been announced, and viral social-media and tabloid claims linking Vectis to ‘UFO’ technology are unverified and unsupported by company statements; building more prototypes could speed testing and strengthen Lockheed’s position for future CCA opportunities.