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Lockheed Martin sees strong outlook for unmanned market

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market has grown sharply due to military purchases throughout the course of the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Lockheed Martin is banking on the UAV trend continuing despite the pending drawdown in those regions.
George Barton, Lockheed Martin vice president of ship and aviation systems business development for the company's Mission Systems & Sensors (MS2) business, told  IHS Jane's that "time is definitely on the side of UAVs".
"In the near term, companies like Lockheed Martin come up with innovative ideas on how to increase those capabilities while decreasing costs for the customer," Barton said on 6 December.
Other industry executives have said they expect the drawdown in the Middle East and South Asia to bring about a correction in the UAV market. Chris Chadwick, president of Boeing's military aircraft business, said recently that Boeing analysts foresee "at least a 20% reduction" in the global unmanned aircraft market. During the height of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States and its allies had the opportunity to experiment with unmanned systems and to try a variety of options, he said. Now, he added, the military customer is more clearly defining unmanned needs and narrowing purchasing plans.
Lockheed Martin, conversely, has made two acquisitions of UAV manufacturers this year.
"I think Lockheed Martin does see things a little bit differently," said Barton.
The company announced the acquisition of Procerus Technologies, a company specialising in autopilot and other avionics for micro unmanned aerial systems, in January 2012.
Barton said Procerus was purchased to extend Lockheed Martin's unmanned vehicle work in both defence and civil applications. With Procerus expertise in electro-optics systems, unique gimbal systems, communications relay cards, they have focused on the niche market for very small payloads and have become a leader in the industry. Barton said such capabilities have applications beyond the military in policing and other civil applications.
More recently, Lockheed Martin purchased Chandler/May Inc, a manufacturer of UAVs as well as related command-and-control shelters and portable ground control stations.
Chandler/May has customers within the US Homeland Security Department and intelligence communities, as well as in the Pentagon. The company has produced more than 2,200 UAVs, among them Lockheed Martin's Desert Hawk and Fury. The Desert Hawk has been used by the UK army in Afghanistan in "significant numbers", noted Barton.
"This [acquisition] is part of a long-term strategy for us," Barton said. "We're taking the opportunity to see where we can grow with unique technologies."
In the near term, he added, "things aren't changing in the next couple of months" in the military UAV market. Furthermore, despite the coming drawdown, Lockheed Martin still sees a robust need for unmanned aerial cargo and protection systems.
The company's long-term approach, according to Barton, is to focus on the ability of UAVs to augment manned systems and to help protect personnel. He highlighted the company's work on the Unmanned K-MAX helicopter programme, which has had two systems in Afghanistan for demonstrations with the US Marine Corps for all of 2012.
"The cost to operate an airborne manned squadron for logistics support across rugged terrain is quite high," said Barton. "K-MAX [provides] logistics support at a fraction of the cost." As military budgets contract, he added, demand for such capabilities could even increase.

Copyright © IHS Global Limited, 2012
  

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