Skunk Works Flies High With Experimental UAV

Last week at Farnborough, one of the unidentified flying objects plaguing the California desert got identified. Lockheed's Skunk Works revealed a high altitude unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is a technology demonstrator for new technologies. These have the potential to replace manned  high-altitude intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms such as the venerable U-2.

A photo of the technology demonstrator was displayed at a press conference as "part of a review of several Skunk Works projects, highlighting technologies the company is exploring to enable technology for the future," Lockheed Martin said in a press release.

The aircraft is known as the P-175 'Polecat' high altitude unmanned aerial demonstrator. LMT revealed few details of the craft, and did not even describe the operating location or locations where it has been tested. The photo that accompanies this story was described as the P-175 'Polecat' High Altitude Unmanned Aerial Demonstrator in flight over "a remote desert location."

The single photo released shows a tailless, twin-engine aircraft from a rear aspect. The aircraft appears to have swept wings and some dihedral. Beyond that, it's hard to tell much from the photo.

Frank Cappuccio, executive vice president and general manager of Advanced Development Programs and Strategic Planning for Lockheed Martin -- in other words, the head of the Skunk Works -- said, "This UAV is an effort to better understand the flight dynamics of a tailless unmanned air system... as well as to field the next generation of structural composite concepts." He said the "Polecat" was flying "in support of our ongoing research and development work for the US Air Force's future Long Range Strike Program."

"It was specifically designed to verify three things: new, cost effective rapid prototyping and manufacturing techniques of composite materials; projected aerodynamic performance required for sustained high altitude operations; and flight autonomy attributes," said Cappuccio.

The "Polecat" -- the name is a sly reference to the craft's birthplace, the Skunk Works -- was developed in only 18 months, using the company's own money. "[T]he company investment and the resulting successful flights are proof positive of our commitment to developing the next inflection point in unmanned systems," Cappuccio said.

Other technologies that Cappuccio said the company was examining via the program are meant to achieve "low boom, supersonic flight over land," and "global reach".

Cappucio continued, "The Skunk Works is all about advancing the art of the possible. It may sound nebulous to some, but we thrive on ideas and innovation."

Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Projects, based in Palmdale, CA, a subsidiary of the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, was the home of such remarkable programs as the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance plane, and the A-12/SR-71/YF-12 series of Mach 3+ reconnaissance and intelligence collection aircraft.

FMI: www.lockheedmartin.com