Lockheed Martin announced on Sept. 14, 2026, that it will build four additional Vectis collaborative combat aircraft prototypes in addition to the one already in production, bringing the total to five internally funded aircraft, with the first flight targeted for the end of 2027.
Ron Fehlen, Lockheed Martin Vice President and General Manager of Skunk Works, said the additional aircraft will be used to accelerate testing and validate production processes. “Development work on those additional aircraft is already underway, and we’ll have more specifics to share soon,” Fehlen said. He added the company will “build and we will fly these four vehicles even more quickly” than the first prototype.
Vectis was first publicly revealed on Sept. 21, 2025, as a Group 5 survivable and lethal collaborative combat aircraft developed by Skunk Works as a clean-sheet, internally funded effort. At the time, Lockheed Martin said development was already underway, with parts ordered and a first flight targeted within two years. The company is showcasing a full-scale model of the drone on the show floor at this week’s conference.
Fehlen disclosed new dimensions for the aircraft: Vectis is approximately 34 feet long with a wingspan of around 38 feet. By comparison, the Navy’s T-45 Goshawk trainer is roughly 39 feet long by 30 feet wide. O.J. Sanchez, previously Lockheed Martin Vice President and General Manager of Skunk Works, has said Vectis is smaller than an F-16 Fighting Falcon.
The aircraft is powered by a Williams International FJ44-4 turbofan producing more than 3,600 pounds of thrust. Peter McArdle, Integrated Systems program director at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, said in December 2025 that “by leveraging a mature, rugged turbofan, we can accelerate our timeline and demonstrate a game-changing capability quickly.” Lockheed Martin has not stated publicly whether the same engine would power a future production version.
Fehlen also confirmed that Vectis features a deeply recessed, top-mounted “submerged” air intake that was part of the design from the beginning but not reflected in previously released renderings and scale models. He said the configuration reduces frontal drag and offers an advantage in austere environments under the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment concept by reducing foreign object debris pickup from runways. Fehlen also confirmed the inlet design relates to survivability but did not elaborate.
Lockheed Martin has positioned Vectis as a relatively affordable but highly survivable autonomous aircraft designed to operate alongside fifth- and next-generation crewed aircraft, supporting missions ranging from precision strike to electronic warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and offensive and defensive counter-air. The company has not published maximum takeoff weight, range, combat radius, endurance, maximum speed, payload capacity, or detailed sensor and weapons configuration. Group 5 classification places it in the largest U.S. military UAS category, with a maximum takeoff weight over 1,320 pounds and a nominal operating altitude over 18,000 feet.
Sources: The Aviationist · Breaking Defense · The War Zone · Air & Space Forces Magazine