Tag: Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Details Challenges Implementing AI in the DOD Marketspace

FROM THE INSTITUTE
“AI will be the mainstream fabric of everything we do going forward,” John Clark, Lockheed Martin’s senior vice president of Technology and Strategic Innovation, said during AIAA AVIATION Forum. Speaking with Graham Warwick, executive editor of Technology for Aviation Week, Clark discussed a range of challenges confronting the defense aerospace sector in today’s AI race, while sharing Lockheed Martin’s specific path forward, embracing a modular deployment of AI focused on use cases and iterating fast from existing models.
Full Story (Aerospace America)

Lockheed to Upgrade F-35 with Sixth-Gen Tech and Turn it into a ‘Ferrari’

Defense News reports, “Lockheed Martin plans to fold technologies it developed in its unsuccessful bid for the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance platform into the F-35 and F-22 Raptor to create a “supercharged” fifth-generation fighter, company executives said. Lockheed CEO Jim Taiclet told investors in a Tuesday earnings call the company is not going to challenge the Air Force’s March 21 decision to award the F-47 contract to Boeing. Instead, he said, the company will focus on upgrading the F-35 and F-22 Raptor fighters with sixth-generation technology.”
Full Story (Defense News)

NASA’s X-59 Supersonic Jet Passes Key ‘Cruise Control’ Test Ahead of First Flight

SPACE reports, “NASA’s new X-59 supersonic jet is a step closer to flight after passing an important ground test in March. Known as “engine speed hold,” the test ensured that the X-59 can maintain a specific speed when it flies for the first time later this year. “Engine speed hold is essentially the aircraft’s version of cruise control,” Paul Dees, NASA’s X-59 deputy propulsion lead at Armstrong Flight Research Center in California, said in a statement. “The pilot engages speed hold at their current speed, then can adjust it incrementally up or down as needed.”
Full Story (SPACE)

General Atomics Demonstrates MQ-20 Avenger UCAV’s Autonomous Flight Capabilities

Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has flown U.S. government-provided autonomy software onboard a company-owned MQ-20 Avenger® unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) during the Air Force Test Center’s Orange Flag 25-1 all-domain test series. A government-provided Pilot Vehicle Interface (PVI) was fitted aboard an Avenger jet-powered UCAV in the demonstration which took place February 19-21 at Edwards Air Force Base, California. GA-ASI also demonstrated the ability to rapidly swap between autonomy systems midflight over Proliferated Low Earth Orbit (PLEO) satellites utilizing an autonomy product from Shield AI.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)

Lockheed Martin to Upgrade USAF F-22 Raptor Infrared Sensors

Aerotime reports, “Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $270 million contract by the US Air Force to integrate next-generation infrared defensive sensors on the F-22 Raptor. Under the agreement, the F-22 will be equipped with a distributed set of embedded TacIRST sensors, collectively known as the Infrared Defensive System (IRDS). These sensors are designed to bolster the Raptor’s ability to detect, track, and counter adversarial threats in the infrared spectrum.”
Full Story (Aerotime)

Lockheed Martin Delivers 110 F-35s in 2024

Reuters reports, “Lockheed Martin delivered a total of 110 F-35 fighter jets to the United States and its allies in 2024, the Bethesda, Maryland-based defense contractor said in a statement on Wednesday. The delivery total achieves the higher end of the range of 75 to 110 jet deliveries CEO Jim Taiclet gave in an earnings call last summer.”
Full Story (Reuters)

US Navy Partners with Lockheed, General Atomics to Test New Drone Control System

Breaking Defense reports, “US Navy pilots sitting comfortably in Maryland recently took a new carrier-based drone control center out for a spin for the first time, piloting a General Atomics MQ-20 Avenger thousands of miles away using autonomous tech made by Lockheed Martin’s secretive Skunk Works division. The live-flight test of the Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control Station (UMCS), conducted Nov. 5, was done ‘as part of an effort to advance technology for future Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA),’ Naval Aviation Systems Command wrote in a release on Thursday.”
Full Story (Breaking Defense)

NASA Initiates Engines Tests on Experimental X-59

Flying Magazine reports, “NASA has fired up the engine of its experimental X-59 supersonic aircraft for the first time, marking the launch of testing to ensure the powerplant and systems work together.” The “X-59 Quiet SuperSonic Technology (QueSST) aircraft is part of NASA’s Low Boom Flight Demonstration project aimed at collecting data to help shape regulations for possible future commercial supersonic flight. … The modified F414-GE-100 engine is expected to enable the aircraft to fly Mach 1.4, or around 925 mph, according to NASA.”
Full Story (Flying Magazine

2024 ASCEND to Accelerate Our Off-World Future with Axiom Space, Boeing, DARPA, Lockheed Martin, NASA, Northrop Grumman, NRO, ULA, and U.S. Space Force

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 7, 2024 – Reston, Va. – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) today announced dozens of speakers who will appear at its upcoming ASCEND event, 30 July – 1 August, Caesars Forum, Las Vegas. ASCEND is the world’s premier outcomes-focused, interdisciplinary space event designed to accelerate building our off-world future.

Powered by AIAA, ASCEND serves as the nexus for addressing the most important opportunities and challenges that come with increased activity in space today. Over 200 industry luminaries from across the civil, commercial, and national security space sectors, adjacent industry representatives, and next-generation thinkers from around the world are scheduled to speak. Confirmed speakers include:

  • A.C. Charania, Chief Technologist, NASA
  • Carissa Christensen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, BryceTech*
  • Debra Emmons, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, The Aerospace Corporation
  • Barbara Golf, Strategic Advisor for Space Domain Awareness, Space Systems Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base, U.S. Space Force (USSF)
  • Janet Grondin, CEO, Stellar Solutions
  • Matt Kozlov, Managing Director, Techstars
  • Michael López-Alegría, Chief Astronaut, Axiom Space
  • Sandra Magnus, TraCSS Chief Engineer, MITRE/Office of Space Commerce*
  • Tom Marshburn, Chief Medical Officer, Sierra Space
  • Rob Meyerson, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Interlune*
  • Maj. Michael Nayak, USAF, Program Manager, DARPA
  • Shawna Pandya, Director, International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS)*
  • Nelson Pedreiro, Vice President, Advanced Technology Center, Lockheed Martin Space
  • Mark Peller, Senior Vice President, Vulcan Development and Advanced Programs, United Launch Alliance (ULA)
  • Christopher Scolese, Director, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
  • Lt. Gen. John Shaw, USSF (Ret.), Former Deputy Commander, U.S. Space Command
  • Lauren Smith, Senior Program Manager, Satellite Refueling, Northrop Grumman*
  • Lee Steinke, Chief Operating Officer, CisLunar Industries
  • Melanie Stricklan, Executive Director, Space Workforce 2030, Space Foundation
  • Mandy Vaughn, CEO and Founder, GXO
  • Kurt Vogel, Associate Administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA
  • Kelly Weinersmith, Co-Author, A City on Mars
  • Matthew Weinzierl, Senior Associate Dean and Chair, MBA Program; Joseph and Jacqueline Elbling Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School*
  • Noelle Zietsman, Vice President and Chief Engineer, Boeing Exploration Systems*

*Member of the 2024 ASCEND Guiding Coalition

Many more speakers will be announced as they are confirmed. In addition, hundreds of technical papers and collaborative sessions are scheduled, featuring expert researchers and innovators that anchor the event with the long-term thinking required to build a sustainable off-world future.

“This year, we’re co-locating ASCEND with the AIAA AVIATION Forum in one venue. These two signature AIAA events will deliver full technical programs, visionary discussions, and industry networking our community counts on. With a central Expo Hall serving as the bridge between both events’ communities, we believe attendees will be energized by this unique experience. We look forward to welcoming thousands of aerospace professionals and students from across the aerospace sector,” said AIAA CEO Dan Dumbacher.

Registration for the 2024 ASCEND event is open. Early bird rates end on 10 June. Journalists from around the world are invited to cover 2024 ASCEND; press passes are available for credentialed media by request. For more information, visit ascend.events, or follow ASCEND on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Media Contact: Rebecca Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell

About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, or follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.