Sep 21, 2025 - Technology

Lockheed's Skunk Works unveils Vectis, a stealthy drone wingman

Colin Demarest

A group of sleek, dark gray military aircraft flying over a coastline with rocky cliffs and a sea under a sky filled with fluffy clouds. — The Vectis drone, mocked up alongside other Lockheed Martin products. Image: Courtesy of Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin's clandestine Skunk Works division is developing a drone wingman known as Vectis, designed for surveillance, electronic warfare, precision strikes and aerial combat.

Why it matters: Public rollouts from such a secretive group are rare.

Its emergence Sunday — ahead of an annual defense conference just outside of Washington — is no mistake.

Driving the news: OJ Sanchez, the head of Skunk Works, briefed reporters on the aircraft, which he said is smaller than an F-16 fighter but larger than the Common Multi-Mission Truck missile. (Lockheed makes both.)

"Whether you call them drones, autonomous collaborative platforms or collaborative combat aircraft, we've been developing and fielding them since the early 1960s," he said.

Here's how the largest defense contractor in the world by revenue is pitching Vectis:

Stealthy, reusable and runway dependent;
Useful in the Indo-Pacific, Middle East and Europe;
Compatible with other aircraft, including F-22 and F-35;
Competitively priced, but not designed for any one specific contract.

Context: "You don't just come up with a cool design and then instantly start on it. You burn down that risk over time," Sanchez said. "The ability to get to this concept did not happen overnight."

Skunk Works was involved with the U-2, SR-71, F-117 and RQ-170, among other aircraft.

Friction point: Sanchez declined to discuss Vectis' engine. He said specific "specs and weights" will be discussed "another time."

Zoom out: Both the Air Force and Navy are seeking robo-wingmen to accompany pilots in the near-future.

The latter service tapped Lockheed to build a common control system.

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Lockheed's Skunk Works unveils Vectis, a stealthy drone wingman

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