LONDON — BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin are teaming up to develop a family of uncrewed autonomous air systems, with an initial focus on electronic warfare, the companies said at the DSEI UK defense show here on Tuesday.
Details remained scant as the companies announced their collaboration. The system will be in the 1-tonne range and able to carry different payloads, according to Dave Holmes, the managing director of BAE Systems’ FalconWorks division.
The goal is a cost-effective vehicle that’s easy to modify as well as easy to deploy, be that air dropped or launched from ground or maritime platforms, said OJ Sanchez, the general manager of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works.
The design will include “modularity and adaptability,” according to the partners, who cited a need to quickly develop and field affordable combat mass.
Drone and missile makers are increasingly touting systems that can be tinkered with to keep them relevant, as well as cheaper and faster to produce.
Pan-European missile maker MBDA presented a one-way effector with 800 kilometer range at the show on Tuesday that can be built using different off-the-shelf components and armed with various warhead types.
BAE and Lockheed Martin will disclose specific applications for the system as those are being developed, with cost “an important variable” for the design team, Sanchez said.
The system is not considered a missile and will be designed to return, while still being of “an attritable nature,” according to Holmes. The return mechanism would be something other than landing gear, possibly a parachute, the executive said.
The past three years have demonstrated a need for armed forces to have a capability to “punch a hole through these very complex and denied electronic warfare environments,” Holmes said. The uncrewed air systems will have capabilities that can be deployed from day one of a conflict, he said.
The concept is for an open system approach that allows to integrate users’ capabilities, while having modular architecture both in terms of firmware and software will be key to refreshing the system and keeping it current, he said.
BAE Systems sees the collaboration with Lockheed Martin as “highly complementary” to what MBDA can offer, according to Holmes. The British company is a major shareholder in MBDA, with a 37.5% stake, together with Airbus and Leonardo.
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.
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