The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded Lockheed Martin a 10-year contract to supply the British Military with uncrewed Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) companies, together with refined focusing on, and automatic goal and risk recognition enabled by the most recent Synthetic Intelligence expertise.
The contract helps extremely expert jobs throughout a number of websites within the south west of the UK and can convey collectively main Synthetic Intelligence and uncrewed aerial programs (UAS) expertise companions based mostly within the UK together with Inzpire, Nordic Unmanned, and C3IA.
“This programme will convey a big uncrewed technological benefit to the UK Armed Forces and be a key enabler in multi-domain integration, in addition to create extremely expert jobs and enhance the resilience of the economic base,” mentioned Paul Livingston, chief govt of Lockheed Martin UK.
The TIQUILA contract consists of management from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®, bringing greater than 60 years of UAS experience and greater than 80 years of pioneering options to the UK Armed Forces. Skunk Works will improve the uncrewed programs Stalker VXE30 and Indago 4, that are already in use with the British Military. Skunk Works may even collaborate with the British Military on innovation, highway mapping and expertise scouting to extend industrial capability and resilience, in addition to develop new capabilities.
“As the worldwide risk modifications, its essential we stay on the forefront of innovation, delivering cutting-edge capabilities to our deployed forces,” mentioned Minister for Defence Procurement Alex Chalk KC.
“TIQUILA will convey the subsequent era of remotely piloted air programs into service within the Military. It’s going to present the means for the potential to stay at the forefront of innovation permitting it to adapt to new threats,” mentioned Brigadier Pete Drew, the British Military’s senior accountable proprietor for the TIQUILA programme.
“The Skunk Works group is honoured to help and accomplice with the British Military to modernise the UK navy’s UAS fleet,” mentioned Jacob Johnson, director of ISR and UAS programs at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. “That is an thrilling alternative for us to assist meet the vital wants of our coalition companions.”
Lockheed Martin UK has operated in nation for greater than 80 years. From serving to to construct the UK’s first industrial spaceport to postal sorting expertise, its helps remedy among the UK’s most complicated challenges, contributing to nationwide defence, safety and prosperity. The F-35 programme alone, which supplies stability and worth important to navy partnerships with key allies around the globe, will generate greater than £40 billion kilos of gross worth for the UK financial system and maintain greater than 20,000 British jobs between 2007 and 2038.
