Lockheed Martin Polecat

Polecat

A picture of the Lockheed-Martin Polecat released at the Farnborough Airshow in 2006
Role	Unmanned aerial vehicle
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin Skunk Works
First flight	2005
Retired	December 18, 2006
Number built	1

The Lockheed Martin Polecat (company designation P-175) was an unmanned aerial vehicle by Lockheed Martin. It was developed by the company'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 Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs division.

Design and development

Designated P-175, the Polecat was funded internally by Lockheed Martin (as opposed to using United States Government funds) at the beginning of 2005. The prototype was unveiled at the 2006 Farnborough Airshow.^[1]^[2] It was developed over a period of 18 months.^[3]

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."^[4]

Specifications

General characteristics

Crew: 0
Capacity: 1,000 lb (450 kg) of weapons or sensors
Wingspan: 90 ft 0 in (27.44 m)
Gross weight: 9,000 lb (4,082 kg)
Powerplant: 2 × Williams FJ44-3E turbofan engines, 3,010 lbf (13.38 kN) thrust each

Performance

Endurance: 4 hours
Service ceiling: 65,000 ft (20,000 m)

References

^ "Farnborough picture: Lockheed Martin Skunk Works releases picture of secret Polecat UAV." Flight International. July 19, 2006. Retrieved July 12, 2013
^ "Aviation Week ShowNews Farnborough Day 4 E-zine." Aviation Week & Space Technology. July 20, 2006.
^ Butler, A. "Lockheed Unveils Secret Polecat UAV Design." Aviation Week & Space Technology. July 19, 2006.
^ Trimble, S. "What Killed the Polecat?." Flightglobal.com. July, 2007.

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Lockheed Martin Polecat