Lockheed Martin [LMT] and AeroVironment
[AVAV] have reached an agreement to partner in pursuing market opportunities for unmanned aerial vehicles and key payload capabilities, the companies said Friday.
The agreement between the world’s largest defense contractor and the small southern California-based UAV maker attempts to combine Lockheed Martin’s experience as a systems integrator and developer of sensors with AeroVironment’s background in the development and construction of unmanned aerial vehicles, the companies said.
The primary focus of the arrangement is to integrate Lockheed Martin mission systems and ground systems and technology with AeroVironment’s Global Observer UAV. Global Observer, whose development has been funded by a handful of government agencies, features a large wingspan and is designed to fly into the stratosphere to perform long-endurance reconnaissance and communication around the world.
“We look forward to partnering with AeroVironment to potentially develop integrated solutions for the unmanned systems market,” said Paul Lemmo, a senior vice president for corporate strategy and business development at Lockheed Martin.
AeroVironment is perhaps best known for its small hand-launched UAVs like Raven and Puma that have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Lockheed Martin’s broad systems integration expertise gives us the opportunity to work together and develop innovative, end-to-end atmospheric satellite systems built around Global Observer that deliver breakthrough capabilities to customers,” Roy Minson, AeroVironment’s senior vice president for unmanned aircraft, said.