Lockheed Martin Polecat
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The Lockheed Martin Polecat is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle developed by Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs division in Palmdale, California. "Polecat" is a colloquialism for a skunk, in an apparent reference to the popular "Skunk Works" nickname for the Advanced Development Programs division.
The Polecat, designated P-175, was funded internally by Lockheed Martin (as opposed to using United States Government funds) at the beginning of 2005, and was unveiled at the 2006 Farnborough Air Show.[1][2] It was developed over a period of 18 months.[3] [4] On December 18, 2006, the aircraft crashed due to an "irreversible unintentional failure in the flight termination ground equipment, which caused the aircraft's automatic fail-safe flight termination mode to activate," cited by Lockheed Martin (though it wasn't until late March that the company acknowledged it publicly.)
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[edit] Specifications
- Primary function: Technology Demonstrator
- Contractor: Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Palmdale, California
- Powerplant: Two Williams International FJ44-3E turbofans
- Thrust: 6,000 lbf total
- Gross Takeoff Weight: 9,000 lb
- Fuel capacity: N/A
- Payload: 1000 lb of weapons or sensors
- System development cost: $27 million USD
- Inventory: Single prototype
[edit] Dimensions
- Length: N/A
- Height: N/A
- Wingspan: 90 ft
[edit] Performance
- Cruising speed: N/A
- Endurance: 4 hours
- Range: N/A
- Service ceiling: 65,000 ft
[edit] References
- ^ "Farnborough picture: Lockheed Martin Skunk Works releases picture of secret Polecat UAV." Flight International. July 19, 2006.
- ^ "Aviation Week ShowNews Farnborough Day 4 E-zine." Aviation Week & Space Technology. July 20, 2006.
- ^ "Skunk Works unveils secret Polecat UAV." Cook, N. and Sweetman, B. Jane's International Defense Review. July 19, 2006.
- ^ "Lockheed Unveils Secret Polecat UAV Design." Butler, A. Aviation Week & Space Technology. July 19, 2006.
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