Lockheed Eyes Unmanned F-35 Amid Push Into Drone World

Posted on: Aug. 16th, 2006 || Source: money.aol.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) has designed ways to convert its new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter into a combat drone as part of a broad push into robot technologies, company officials said Tuesday

Lockheed Martin hopes to become as famous for its drones as Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC) and privately held General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., the companies behind the well-known Global Hawk and Predator unmanned aerial vehicles. At a Washington press briefing, company executives regaled reporters with the company's range of related research.

"We're not getting the name branding that we perhaps ought to be getting," said Richard O'Lear, vice president for unmanned aerial systems. "We're in the business and we probably have been less aggressive than we should have been."

In recent years, Lockheed Martin has devoted 30% to 40% of its aeronautics investment to unmanned systems, said Frank Mauro, Lockheed Martin vice president for advanced systems development. He said the company now is making up for its previous single-minded focus on the F-35 program, a $276 billion initiative to replace thousands of aging fighters around the world.

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