HUSH-HUSH WARPLANE EXISTS LOCKHEED MARTIN REVEALS POLECAT PHOTO.Byline: JIM Jim Miss Watson’s runaway slave; Huck’s traveling companion. [Am. Lit.: Huckleberry Finn] See : Escape SKEEN Staff Writer PALMDALE -- Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. revealed Wednesday that the company has designed and assembled an unmanned, tailless airplane being used to explore technologies for a future long-range strike aircraft. Dubbed Polecat polecat, carnivorous mammal of the weasel family. The name refers especially to the common Old World polecat, Mustela putorius, found in wooded areas of N Eurasia and N Africa. and looking something like a B-2 stealth bomber and something like the DarkStar spyplane that Lockheed Martin built in the 1990s, the new airplane is 90 percent composite materials, rather than metal. With two jet engines, it has a wingspan of 90 feet, weighs about 9,000 pounds and is capable of carrying 1,000 pounds of sensors. ``This UAV UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV Unmanned Air Vehicle UAV Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle UAV Unmanned Airborne Vehicle UAV Uninhabited Air Vehicle UAV Urban Assault Vehicle UAV Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle (less common) (unmanned air vehicle) is an effort to better understand the flight dynamics of (a) tailless unmanned air system in support of our ongoing research and development work for the U.S. Air Force's future long-range strike program as well as to field the next generation of structural composite concepts,'' Frank Cappuccio, executive vice president and general manager of Advanced Development Programs and Strategic Planning Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. , said in statement announcing the aircraft's existence. The company also released a photo. The airplane was built at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company -- Palmdale, popularly called the Skunk skunk, name for several related New World mammals of the weasel family, characterized by their conspicuous black and white markings and use of a strong, highly offensive odor for defense. Works, with about $27 million of the company's own funding. About 60 workers designed and assembled the aircraft in about 18 months. ``It was specifically designed to verify three things: new, cost-effective rapid prototyping Building a part one layer at a time using a method of additive fabrication such as 3D printing. Such parts are used for concept modeling to determine if the product design meets the customer's expectations. and manufacturing techniques of composite materials; projected aerodynamic performance required for sustained high altitude operations; and flight autonomy attributes,'' said Cappuccio. Cappuccio said the company also is exploring technologies to enable low-boom, supersonic flight over land and global reach. ``It's easy to identify a need,'' Cappuccio said. ``The hard part is evolving the technology to make filling that need possible. The Skunk Works is all about advancing the art of the possible. It may sound nebulous to some, but we thrive on ideas and innovation.'' The airplane is being flight-tested from an undisclosed location in the western United States Noun 1. western United States - the region of the United States lying to the west of the Mississippi River West Santa Fe Trail - a trail that extends from Missouri to New Mexico; an important route for settlers moving west in the 19th century , the company said. It has made two flights thus far, reaching an altitude of 15,000 feet. The plane is believed capable of flying at 65,000 feet, said company spokeswoman Dianne Knippel. High-altitude flights are expected by January. The Polecat is capable of flying itself, but can take new commands in-flight. The company is using the aircraft to understand technologies that could be applied to a future long-range strike aircraft the Air Force hopes to field by 2018. james.skeen(at)dailynews (661) 267-5743 CAPTION(S): photo Photo: An aerial photograph shows the Polecat high-altitude unmanned aircraft flying over an undisclosed test range in the western United States. Lockheed Martin |
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