Lockheed Martin will this week unveil new vehicle control software, dubbed VCSi, at the Unmanned Systems Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi.
Crucially, VCSi marks the culmination of more than two decades experience and 1.5 million hours of operational use. Lockheed Martin has, on average, flown six unmanned aircraft each hour over the past 25 years, having completed countless reconnaissance, inspection, mapping and targeting missions.
Now VCSi will enable operators to simultaneously control dozens of unmanned vehicles during key information, surveillance and reconnaissance operations.
“VCSi is a safe and reliable software platform that can be adapted to any vehicle – from one you can hold in your hand, to a 50,000-pound machine; from a vehicle that flies for a few minutes, to a vehicle that flies for months at a time,” said John Molberg, Business Development Manager at Lockheed Martin CDL Systems.
“The user can integrate as many vehicles as required to complete their missions, including boats, quadcopters, fixed-wing aircraft or even high-altitude pseudo satellites. Across commercial or military missions, VCSi is adaptable to the challenge and further extends the power of the human-machine team.”
VCSi has been developed in accordance with the NATO Standardization Agreement, also known as STANAG 4586, which supports unmanned vehicle interoperability. Operators will also be able to build attachments or plug-ins beyond the scope of 4586 and tailor-make VCSi to their unique specifications.
For Lockheed Martin, 2018 marks the 25th anniversary of the VCS unmanned control product family. The defence specialist has amassed five decades of experience in unmanned and autonomous systems for land, sea and air.
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