Lockheed Martin is moving into the operational phase of an unmanned aerial system the company is building after completing the program’s research and development stage.
The company designed the Indago vertical take-off and landing quad-rotor for surveillance and emergency response operations, Lockheed said Tuesday.
A handheld ground control station accompanying the unmanned system works to help users operate the VTOL aircraft within 3.1 miles of range.
Kevin Westfall, director of unmanned services at Lockheed’s mission systems and training business, said the company intends for military and commercial customers to use the Indago and other UAS technologies.
Lockheed worked to incorporate the Kestrel autopilot system into Indago and expand the interoperability of the ground control system with other aircraft.