F-35 Uav

[pdx]

I think Lockheed is just trying for proof of concept with an unmanned JSF. If they can get it to fly and have anywhere near the same capabilities as the manned aircraft, they can prove large scale UAVs are feasible (this isn't a given yet!).

 

[raptor10]

Yesterday's briefing marked a strategic turn for Lockheed, which for years has stayed publicly on the sidelines as the Pentagon increased its spending on unmanned systems.


Such competitors as Northrop Grumman Corp. and Boeing Co. are entrenched in the market, with products such as Northrop Grumman's Global Hawk surveillance drone, which is deployed overseas.


Lockheed ceded the market in the late 1990s while it focused on winning the contract to build what many predict will be the Air Force's last manned fighter jet, the F-35. Lockheed then feared that the unmanned market could diminish demand for its more expensive fighter jets, analysts said.


"When you think about unmanned combat systems, I think about Boeing," said John E. Pike, executive director of GlobalSecurity.org.

Lockheed Martin is just trying to prove that they know how to build UAV's. They are not the go-to company when people are talking uav's so to get their foot in the door, they are gonna show that their script kiddies can write routines that can allow the plane to operate wiithout a a guy in the cockpit.

 

[riley]

Boeing didn't jump onto the UAV bandwagon until they lost the JSF contract to Lockheed in Oct of '01. Then, all of a sudden, they come up with the "next generation" UAV/UCAV and are pushing it over a manned fighter when only a few months before they were pushing a manned fighter over UAVs. Original numbers had the JSF still rolling down the production line until 2040. Lockheed is just playing smart and hedging bets - a lot happens over 35 years.