Hasta La Gadget!

The jury’s still out on Lockheed Martin’s F-35B fighter. The aircraft is expected to cost the US more than $1.5 trillion over its lifetime, and it’s been described as being too heavy and too sluggish — one critic has gone so far as to call the jet a “dog.” One thing’s for sure, though: the F-35 looks mighty impressive, especially when it’s landing vertically on an aircraft carrier. In the dark. Click past the break for a look at Lockheed’s trillion-dollar light show, courtesy of Uncle Sam.

Filed under: Transportation

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Source: Lockheed Martin (YouTube)

Lockheed Martin flipped the switch on its first (still Earth-bound) GPS III satellite earlier this year, and it’s now announced that it’s completed functional testing on the satellite’s key electronic systems. In a press release, the company says those systems, ranging from navigation and control to communications, are all “functioning normally and ready for final integration with the satellite’s navigation payload,” and that the satellite remains on track for deliverly to the Air Force in 2014. As previously detailed, the satellites themselves are promising to deliver a range of improvements over current GPS technology to civilian and military users alike, including three times greater accuracy and an eight-fold increase in anti-jamming capabilities, which Lockheed Martin says is designed to “outpace growing global threats that could disrupt GPS service.”

Filed under: GPS

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Via: The Verge

Source: Lockheed Martin

Wondering who would be the first to concoct a Kickstarter for governmental wishes? We suppose it’s Lockheed Martin. Today, the aforementioned outfit has launched an initiative “aimed at expanding its collaboration with Silicon Valley companies to meet the diverse technology needs of the federal government.” Called the Lockheed Martin Silicon Valley Alliance, the hub will reportedly “provide the federal government with greater visibility into innovative technology solutions developed locally,” even going so far as to suggest that a game developer could use their resources in order to improve the realism of a military simulation system. It sounds as if Lockheed will end up being the middleman between aspiring companies and entities like the Department of Defense and NASA, essentially ensuring that whatever is built meets federal requirements. Those interested in venturing down such a rabbit hole can give the source link a look, but as always, we’d caution you to register at your own risk.

Filed under: Science, Alt

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Source: Lockheed Martin

It’s been awhile since we heard much about Lockheed Martin’s GPS III satellite family beyond mention of an early prototype. The next-gen positioning system just took a big step forward with word that the company has successfully powered up the first production craft of the bunch, Space Vehicle One. Flicking the switch clears it for testing and keeps the GPS III program’s 2014 launch window within view. More importantly, the activation takes us one step closer to improved GPS accuracy for civilians and soldiers alike.

Filed under: GPS

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Via: Phys.org

Source: Lockheed Martin

I receive a terse invite from Lockheed Martin that asks me to take a “glimpse into the future,” but it doesn’t mention whose future it is. I could write about what I know of the American defense contractor on the back of a postage stamp, but a cursory Google search fills in some of the blanks. The company reportedly receives around 7 percent of the US military budget on its own – and with that, my imagination runs rampant about what I’m likely to see. Dreaming of playing with laser pistols, intelligent cyborgs and giant robots, I tell them I’m coming.

A few days later, I turn up at the Honourable Artillery Company in London’s glitzy financial district, a miniature castle that’s dwarfed by the gleaming skyscrapers that surround it. In a way, the landscape is telling, since the occupants of those buildings can shoulder some of the blame for the current financial crisis – while across the street, Lockheed Martin is preparing its cost-cutting response.

Two hulking vehicles guard the entrance off a small courtyard, and through a window I see a plush room full of red velvet and leather, stuffed with computers and pensive, well-dressed operators. I wonder if I’m being vetted as I amble inside, my now-sodden socks and matted hair marking me out as unthreatening — just as long as I promise not to get out my camera. As I’m ushered inside and the tour begins, I’m expecting to see jetpacks and robots, but the reality is much different. Not even this industry is immune to the world’s financial problems, and my tour would reveal that its future lies decidedly in our past.

Continue reading What’s Past is Prologue: a look inside the future of Lockheed Martin

Filed under: Robots, Science, Alt

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