Thursday, May 1, 2014

Lockheed Martin Marks Milestone in Development of Unmanned Technologies

Lockheed Martin Marks Milestone in Development of Unmanned Technologies: Three systems acquired by Lockheed Martin have progressed from their research and development phase to operational readiness. The Indago vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) quad-rotor, accompanied by its handheld ground control station (GCS) will offer a robust, mobile surveillance application. Additionally, a new Commercial Avionics Suite delivers the same performance and reliability that customers have enjoyed with the previous products but at a new low price.

"After two years of developing these capabilities, we will now be able to deliver affordable and effective products to both military and commercial customers," said Kevin Westfall, director of unmanned solutions at Lockheed Martin's Mission Systems and Training business. "The Indago VTOL, handheld GCS and advanced Commercial Avionics Suite will provide mobility and high accuracy for a range of missions - now and in the future."

The compact Indago VTOL, which folds up and requires no assembly, achieves ranges of up to five kilometers for up to 45 minutes when operated using the handheld GCS.