Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is an American aerospace and defence manufacturer formed on 15 March 1995 through the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland. Alongside crewed aircraft such as the F-35 and F-22, the company has developed unmanned aircraft ranging from a 1990s stealth reconnaissance demonstrator to today's small tactical UAS.

History and products

Lockheed Martin's storied Skunk Works division built the RQ-3 DarkStar in the 1990s under the "Tier III Minus" programme, a stealthy, fully autonomous reconnaissance drone intended for defended airspace; the programme was cancelled in 1999 after persistent stability problems, though its lessons influenced later stealth UAV work. More recently, Lockheed Martin's Procerus Technologies unit has developed small hand-launched and vehicle-portable tactical UAS such as Stalker XE and Indago 3 for special operations and reconnaissance customers.

Products on this site

The RQ-3A DarkStar was Lockheed Martin's stealth reconnaissance demonstrator, cancelled in 1999. The Stalker XE and Indago 3 are its current small tactical UAS for reconnaissance and special-operations use.