Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works has taken the wraps off an experimental, air-launched unmanned aircraft system called Speed Racer that is meant to validate a new manufacturing process and a possible new weapon system at once. A company-produced video released on the eve of the Feb. 24-26 virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium reveals a small, jet-powered unmanned aircraft system (UAS) with a hexagonal fuselage, folding and swept wings, plus two sharply canted aft dorsal tails along with one ventral tail. The unidentified UAS in the video is launched by a twin-engine aircraft that strongly resembles a Beech-craft 1900D, although the launch platform choice in the video may be arbitrary. During the launch sequence, the UAS is released from a wing store. An exhaust plug is ejected as the engine starts, and the wings fold out to provide lift. As the UAS cruises low over a rocky landscape, no specific mission is indicated. Reflecting the new trend of military design that blurs the line between a reconnaissance-gathering UAS and a target-seeking cruise missile, either a sensor payload or a warhead may be on board.
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