The U.K.’s Ministry of Defense gave Lockheed Martin a contract to service its program for the Desert Hawk 3, a drone developed by Lockheed Martin which provides tactical intelligence and reconnaissance support to military forces. (Image: Lockheed Martin)
The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense has given Lockheed Martin a contract to service its program for the Desert Hawk 3, a small unmanned aerial system manufactured by the company.
Lockheed Martin will also be tasked with bringing the drone into the fold for Defense Ministry’s core defense program, Lockheed Martin said in a media release.
“Desert Hawk has proved its worth on operations in Afghanistan, providing our Armed Forces with vital intelligence and allowing our commanders to stay one step ahead of the enemy,” said U.K. Defense Minister Phillip Dunne. “We recognize that unmanned and remotely-piloted air systems are increasingly important in today’s operational environment, and our protected Defense budget and £160 billion investment in equipment has allowed us to bring Desert Hawk into our core program.”
The Desert Hawk II has been active for more than 30,000 hours of flight, providing various forms of service such as the provision of enhanced situational awareness for missions, threat detection, route reconnaissance, and the assessment of battle damage. The battery powered, hand launched drone weighs 8 pounds and can fly up to 90 minutes while transporting a 2 pound payload.
Lockheed Martin recently released a modification kit to bring the Desert Hawk 3 to its 3.1 configuration. The upgrade features an easier launch, improved endurance, sensor payload updates, and the ability to be operated via Lockheed Martin’s mobile ground control system.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
