Lockheed Martin Vectis: Skunk Works CCA Status and Specs

What the Lockheed Martin Vectis Is

The Lockheed Martin Vectis is an uncrewed Group 5 combat airframe designed to fly standalone sorties or team directly with crewed aircraft such as the F-35. Developed by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works, the design belongs to the emerging category of collaborative combat aircraft (CCA). Lockheed Martin is funding Vectis internally, so it is being built without a government development contract.

According to Lockheed Martin's Vectis announcement on September 21, 2025, the airframe uses an open systems architecture aligned to Government Reference Architectures (GRA) and MDCX common control systems. Defense News (September 14, 2026) lists wind-tunnel testing within two months and an initial digital build within six months.

Group 5 is Lockheed Martin's description of the class. Lockheed Martin has not published Vectis's weight or dimensions, so the label is not a measured figure.

Program Status and Prototype Development

Lockheed Martin is building five prototypes of the Vectis airframe with a first flight targeted for the end of 2027. Reporting published by Defense News on September 14, 2026, confirmed that Lockheed Martin expanded its original single prototype build plan by adding four more prototypes. Lockheed Martin funds the program internally.

The sources do not say how the five prototypes will be divided among test tasks. Lockheed Martin displayed a full-scale model of Vectis at the Air & Space Forces Association conference in September 2026. Lockheed Martin said in its September 2025 announcement that parts were ordered and that it would design, build and fly Vectis within two years of the announcement.

Lockheed Martin has announced no customers, no contracts and no unit price for Vectis. Lockheed Martin is marketing it to domestic and international militaries.

Engine Selection and Unpublished Specifications

The propulsion system for the Vectis airframe is a Williams International FJ44-4 commercial turbofan providing over 3,600 pounds of thrust. Lockheed Martin has not said why it chose a commercial engine, and the sources do not say how many engines Vectis carries.

Lockheed Martin has not published Vectis's endurance, range, payload, speed, weight or dimensions. It said only that Vectis will be offered "at CCA price point", with no dollar figure.

The Lockheed Martin Vectis announcement is the place to check for any figures Lockheed Martin adds.

Intended Missions and Combat Capabilities

Lockheed Martin lists these Vectis missions: precision strike, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) targeting, electronic warfare (EW), offensive and defensive counter-air, and multi-domain connectivity. Lockheed Martin says Vectis is compatible with the F-35 for teaming.

The sources for this page give no survivability measurements for Vectis. Defense News says it can fly alone or alongside crewed fighters such as the F-35.

Lockheed Martin specified that Vectis has extended range tailored for operations in the Indo-Pacific, European, and US Central Command geographic theaters. The announcement gives no range figure.

Vectis Compared to Increment 1 Production Winners

The US Air Force did not select the Lockheed Martin Vectis for Collaborative Combat Aircraft Increment 1. On June 17, 2026, the service awarded engineering and manufacturing development and production contracts to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Anduril Industries, as reported by Air & Space Forces Magazine. The Air Force plan calls for at least 150 production CCAs combined by the end of the decade. The sources do not state how many come from the General Atomics FQ-42A and how many from the Anduril FQ-44A.

The table outlines the public program standing and known baseline figures for Vectis alongside the two selected Increment 1 production designs.

Lockheed Martin Role in Collaborative Combat Aircraft Software

Vectis was not selected for the Increment 1 airframe build, but Lockheed Martin secured a position within the Air Force's competitive autonomy vendor pool. In the June 2026 awards, the Air Force gave mission-autonomy production options to Anduril, Shield AI, and Collins Aerospace. Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and General Atomics remain in the wider competitive pool, on six-month contract line items. The reported plan is a potential down-select to two vendors and then one by summer 2027.

Lockheed Martin's Increment 1 role is the autonomy software. It holds one of the six spots in the mission-autonomy vendor pool, while General Atomics and Anduril build the aircraft.

Why Build Vectis Without a Customer

Lockheed Martin has not published what the program costs. Defense News attributes to Ron Fehlen the view that customer conversations, both domestic and international, reinforce an urgent need for a survivable, autonomous and multi-mission capability. The sources do not say which customers those conversations involved.

Nine unnamed vendors were reported to be in concept refinement for CCA Increment 2, and the status is unclear. The sources do not say whether Lockheed Martin is among them or whether Vectis is aimed at Increment 2.

Lockheed Martin markets Vectis to international militaries as well as domestic ones, and says it is compatible with the F-35 and uses MDCX common control systems. No international customer is named.

Strategic Assessment for Defense Buyers and Investors

Vectis has no customer, no contract and no published unit price. Any return on Lockheed Martin's self-funded prototypes therefore depends on a customer signing; first flight is targeted for the end of 2027. Lockheed Martin has published no financial figures for the program. For price context across programs, see our military drone cost page.

This aircraft is not suitable for defense procurement offices that require immediate, off-the-shelf airframe deliveries with documented combat operating histories. Those operators should evaluate operational production platforms instead of developmental prototypes. Programs that require an established military supply chain should look to current flight programs rather than an uncrewed design whose first flight is planned for late 2027.

Our assessment would change if the Air Force names Vectis in Increment 2 or a foreign military signs a co-development deal. Until flight trials begin at the end of 2027, read the Lockheed Martin profile and check the Defense News Vectis report for milestone updates. Also watch the summer 2027 mission-autonomy down-select, where Lockheed Martin is one of the pool vendors.