Aviation Week reports that Lockheed Martin “has completed final assembly of the X-59 Low Boom Supersonic Demonstrator in Palmdale, California, and is preparing to ship the experimental aircraft to Fort Worth for structural testing.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Tag: Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin’s SR-72 Revolutionary
The National Interest reports on the continued development of Lockheed Martin’s SR-72 uncrewed hypersonic aircraft. Referring to a digital rendering that had been presented at 2018 AIAA SciTech Forum, Lockheed Martin Vice President Jack O’Banion said, “Without the digital transformation[,] the aircraft you see there could not have been made. In fact, five years ago, it could not have been made.”
Full Story (National Interest)
Lockheed Martin Adds More than 300 New Jobs for F-16 Program
ExecutiveGov reported that Lockheed Martin “has announced the addition of over 300 new jobs in F-16 production and sustainment areas at the company’s location in Greenville, South Carolina by the end of next year.” Lockheed Martin “said Monday the company is seeking to fill positions including airframe and power plant mechanics, avionics technicians, engineers, supervisors, tool makers and quality inspectors, among other roles, in support of its F-16 program.”
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Lockheed Martin Tapped by DARPA for Next Design Phase for Aircraft Using “Active Flow Control”
Politico reports that Lockheed Martin and Aurora Flight Sciences “have been tapped by DARPA for the next design phase for an aircraft using ‘active flow control,’ which replaces traditional features such as rudders and flaps with actuators or effectors.” Both companies have already “completed conceptual designs of a flight demonstrator for the Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors project.” DARPA also announced that it has “selected BAE Systems to develop a conceptual design.” Lockheed Martin and Aurora, a subsidiary of Boeing, are “expected to wrap up work next year, when DARPA will award an undetermined number of contracts for continued development.”
Full Story (Politico)
Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin Selected by DARPA to Develop Spacecraft for Nuclear Propulsion Demo
Space News reports that DARPA “selected Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin to develop competing spacecraft concepts for a demonstration of nuclear thermal propulsion, the agency announced April 12.” The contracts were awarded under the demonstration rocket for agile cislunar operations (DRACO) program. Through the program, DARPA is looking “to demonstrate nuclear thermal propulsion technology – using a nuclear reactor to heat up rocket fuel to generate thrust.” Lockheed Martin’s “contract value is $2.9 million and the Blue Origin’s is $2.5 million.”
Full Story (Space News)