Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works® has unveiled Vectis, a Group 5 collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), at the 2025 Air, Space & Cyber Conference. The stealth drone is intended to work alongside U.S. and allied fighters in roles such as precision strike, electronic warfare, and ISR. Lockheed has pledged to assemble and flight-test the system within two years, signaling its determination to reassert itself in the Air Force’s highly competitive CCA program.
The project is not tied to a formal contract; instead, Lockheed is using internal funding to fast-track development, with components already ordered and assembly underway. This proactive strategy is designed to leap ahead of competitors and deliver a prototype to flight within two years.
Unlike “attritable” wingman drones, Vectis is conceived as a survivable, multi-role combat platform optimized for operations in contested environments. Drawing on decades of stealth innovation and fighter integration expertise, Skunk Works has created a modular design described as capable, customizable, and cost-efficient.
The aircraft will feature an open mission architecture aligned with emerging Department of Defense standards, supporting rapid payload swaps and multi-vendor integration. Lockheed also confirmed Vectis will comply with existing control frameworks such as MDCX™, ensuring interoperability across current and future command-and-control systems.
