Lockheed Martin is developing five Vectis stealth combat drones. Performance, autonomy, missions, and ambitions against CCA program competitors.
Summary
Lockheed Martin is accelerating the development of Vectis, its new autonomous and stealthy combat drone designed to operate alongside American fighter jets. On September 14, 2026, its Skunk Works division announced the construction of four additional airframes, bringing the planned prototype count to five. The maiden flight remains scheduled for late 2027.
Funded internally by the manufacturer, Vectis aims to position itself within the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) market—military drones capable of operating independently or in cooperation with crewed fighters.
Its tailless architecture, internal weapons bay, and autonomous systems are designed to enable reconnaissance, strike, electronic warfare, and air-to-air combat missions.
However, Lockheed Martin is entering a market already heavily contested. General Atomics and Anduril have secured the initial U.S. production contracts for CCAs. Vectis will have to prove that its stealth and versatility justify its cost.
The Vectis Program Expands to Five Lockheed Martin-Funded Prototypes
First unveiled in September 2025, Vectis represents a new attempt by Lockheed Martin to establish a stronghold in the collaborative combat drone market.
On September 14, 2026, at the Air, Space & Cyber Conference in National Harbor, the manufacturer showcased a full-scale mockup and confirmed the construction of four additional aircraft alongside the initial prototype.
The entire program is funded by Skunk Works, Lockheed Martin’s advanced development division. No procurement contract for Vectis has been announced by any air force to date.
According to Ron Fehlen, general manager of Skunk Works, this decision is intended to speed up flight testing and prepare for eventual serial production.
The schedule remains ambitious. Development teams performed their first wind tunnel tests less than two months after initial studies began. The initial digital design was completed in six months, and the first structural part went into manufacturing after eight months.
The maiden flight is targeted for late 2027. This milestone applies to the initial prototype rather than all five aircraft.
Vectis Features a Tailless Stealth Architecture
Vectis belongs to the U.S. Group 5 drone category, which encompasses unmanned military aircraft weighing over 598 kg (1,320 lb).
The aircraft measures approximately 10.36 meters (34 ft) in length with a wingspan of 11.58 meters (38 ft). Its maximum takeoff weight and payload capacity remain classified.
Its airframe configuration relies on a lambda wing design without vertical tailfins or conventional horizontal stabilizers. This layout minimizes surfaces that reflect radar waves and reduces aerodynamic drag.
The engine intake is deeply recessed on top of the fuselage. This placement helps lower radar signatures, particularly from the front aspect, while also reducing foreign object damage risks during operations from austere runways.
However, stealth compromises aerodynamic performance. Integrated top-mounted air intakes can complicate engine airflow at high angles of attack. The flight control system must also actively compensate for the lack of a conventional tail.
Williams FJ44-4 Engine Simplifies Early Development
Lockheed Martin selected a commercial Williams International FJ44-4 turbofan for the first prototype, producing over 16 kN (3,600 lbf) of thrust.
This choice allows the team to utilize a proven powerplant rather than developing a custom engine.
According to details provided to Janes, the manufacturer estimates a combat radius exceeding 1,770 km (1,100 miles). This performance metric remains an unvalidated estimate pending flight testing.
Top speed, service ceiling, and exact weapons bay dimensions have not been officially released.
The Vectis Drone Targets Four Primary Mission Categories
Lockheed Martin is designing Vectis as a multirole platform rather than a simple uncrewed escort for fighters.
Its primary mission domain includes air-to-air combat, where it could detect enemy aircraft, assist in interception vectors, and engage targets with guided missiles.
The second area involves precision strikes against ground targets. Official renders display weapons resembling AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles and GBU-53/B StormBreaker guided bombs. However, these visualizations do not constitute operational qualification.
Vectis is also built to conduct Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations via integrated sensor payloads.
Finally, it could carry out electronic warfare missions to jam enemy radar networks or shield crewed fighters.
Internal weapons carriage plays a vital role here: storing munitions internally preserves low radar visibility, unlike external wing hardpoints.
Artificial Intelligence Enables Collaborative Air Combat
Vectis is designed to operate seamlessly alongside the F-35 Lightning II and upcoming next-generation fighters.
It will be capable of receiving tactical objectives, calculating flight paths, adapting maneuvers, and coordinating actions across multiple platforms.
Lockheed Martin is leveraging its MDCX command architecture, engineered to manage diverse autonomous systems.
Human Oversight Remains Central to the System
A fighter pilot could issue tactical directives to Vectis using a touchscreen display. A ground control station could perform the same supervisory role.
This system architecture reduces the workload and communications required between the pilot and the drone. The operator sets the mission parameters while automated systems handle navigation and authorized tactical maneuvers.
Specific rules of engagement and operational autonomy levels for Vectis have not yet been made public.
Lockheed Martin is also drawing on findings from autonomous flight interception trials conducted with the Lockheed X-62A VISTA.
This empirical flight test data is intended to streamline the integration of control algorithms into future uncrewed aircraft.
U.S. CCA Market Currently Dominated by General Atomics and Anduril
Vectis enters the arena behind the initial winners of the U.S. Collaborative Combat Aircraft initiative.
In June 2026, the U.S. Air Force awarded Increment 1 production contracts to two defense firms:
General Atomics is developing the FQ-42A Vengeance, while Anduril is manufacturing the FQ-44A Fury.
Both platforms have cleared flight test milestones that Vectis has yet to reach. In July 2026, a YFQ-44A successfully executed a live firing of an AIM-120 missile against a digital target.
The U.S. Air Force envisions fielding over 150 operational CCAs before the end of the decade, with long-term goals approaching 1,000 aircraft, including 500 targeted by 2032.
While Lockheed Martin was not selected to build Increment 1 airframes, the company remains among the six vendors selected to compete for autonomy software packages.
Vectis could participate in upcoming U.S. competitions, such as Increment 2, or target international defense buyers.
Pricing Will Be Crucial Against Competitors
The U.S. Air Force aims for an airframe cost of approximately $20 million per unit for first-generation CCAs, excluding specialized mission systems.
Lockheed Martin claims it is pursuing a competitive price point, though it has not published unit cost targets for Vectis.
The defense contractor is implementing digital assembly and simplified manufacturing techniques to drive down costs. Ron Fehlen noted that specific production methods reduce structural assembly man-hours by up to 80%.
The core challenge lies in maintaining high low-observable stealth without matching the manufacturing costs of a crewed fighter jet.
This balance is difficult to achieve. Radar-absorbent materials, sensors, communication suites, and maintenance demands quickly elevate a combat drone’s price tag.
An overly expensive airframe defeats the economic premise of the CCA concept, which is specifically designed to expand mass without multiplying costly crewed platforms.
The Future of Vectis Depends on Balancing Stealth and Mass Production
Lockheed Martin is betting on an open system architecture that accepts varied software modules, sensors, and weapons suites without locking operators into a single hardware configuration.
This approach could appeal to the U.S. Air Force as well as international F-35 operators seeking to acquire collaborative military aviation capabilities.
The main hurdle remains industrial and commercial: Vectis has not yet flown, its cost is unknown, and its operational performance has yet to be demonstrated in flight.
Nevertheless, the manufacturer retains a significant technological foundation built on decades of experience in stealth aircraft, autonomous systems, and mission architecture integration.
The market competition will extend beyond radar stealth performance alone. It will hinge equally on software reliability, mass manufacturing capacity, and lifecycle operating costs.
In 2027, the maiden flight of Vectis must validate this airframe architecture. Lockheed Martin will then need to transition a privately funded demonstrator into a commercially viable combat system. In the CCA market, success is no longer just about building an advanced drone, but being able to produce it at scale to shift the balance of air power.