Polecat Crash Sets Back LM UAV efforts

Polecat UAV
Lockheed Martin is back at square one with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight-testing after the December crash of its P-175 Polecat demonstrator, which is only now being disclosed.

The aircraft went down on Dec. 18, 2006 at the Nevada Test and Training Range, according to U.S. Air Force officials who run the range. An irreversible unintentional failure in the flight termination ground equipment, which caused the aircraft's automatic fail-safe flight termination mode to activate is cited by Lockheed Martin as the cause of the crash.

The company developed the aircraft for about $30 million using internal research and development funding in an effort to experiment with UAV technology while rivals Northrop Grumman and Boeing continue work on their armed UAV demonstrators for the Pentagon. However, company officials kept it a secret, claiming it was classified even though a customer has not been named. The crash was kept secret until this week, when media began making queries about Polecat's status. The aircraft was beginning a new phase of flights largely focused on validating the flying wing design at altitudes in excess of 60,000 feet.

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