Mary-Louise Hoffman
A Lockheed Martin subsidiary has chosen North Atlantic Industries to produce flight control equipment for a vertical-takeoff-and-landing unmanned aerial system.
NAI will manufacture a navigation technology for the Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System that is being built by Lockheed’s Skunk Works arm for a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program, NAI said Thursday.
“ARES seeks to demonstrate several key technologies to achieve an operational VTOL system with a more compact footprint than those of conventional helicopters and couple this with higher cruise speeds,” said Kevin Renshaw, Skunk Works’ ARES senior principal engineer.
The UAS’ navigation system will feature a sensor interface architecture with simulation, communications and programmable controller functions, according to NAI.
NAI says the technology is intended to help Lockheed manage functionality based on ARES application needs.
