Shashwat Gulati The presentation given on Friday was by Ben Marchionna, who is a Research Engineer for Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in California. His background includes upholding a comprehensive portfolio of advanced research and development projects on programs including sixth generation fighters, unmanned aerial vehicles, hypersonic weapon systems, and other classified intentions. As part of his selection into the Lockheed Martin Engineering Development Program, he completed a 2-year rotational assignment as a flight test engineer and test conductor for the F-35 Lightning II program. The presentation was about technology development and innovation at Skunk Works. The company is known as the “front end of the business” within Lockheed Martin.
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The U-2 Dragon Lady is equipped with singles engines and maintains intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) requirements at high altitudes. A Distributed Common Ground System linked to the U-2 through distinct communications architectures plans target decks and advances collection for immediate action. The system provides time-responsive and immensely unstable intelligence to the National Command Authority and theater commanders to enhance situational awareness, analyze geo-political warnings and indications, manage the battlefield, and provide post-strike damage evaluations (“U-2S: Unparalleled High Altitude Reconnaissance”, 2014). The vehicle can support a large, 5,000 pound payload of cameras, sensors and data links. At current employment rates, the aircraft is adequate of sustaining service through 2025 and beyond. It is forty-percent larger today with new engines and sensors. Types of sensors that were invested in over the last 15 years were the enhanced radar sensors and SIGINT sensors. Also, the General Electric turbofan engine was invested in for raised efficiency and power (“U-2S: Unparalleled High Altitude Reconnaissance”, 2014). Another that was built upon was …show more content…
The difference between the A-12 and the SR-71 is that the A-12 has only one seat, while the SR-71 has two seats. The second seat was added for a Reconnaissance Systems Officer and transported more fuel than the A-12 (“Creating the Blackbird”, 2014). The SR-71 was faster than a 0.5 caliber sniper bullet during a 75 nanometer radius turn. The airframe, which was made of ninety-three percent titanium, supported the strength of stainless steel, a proportionately light weight, and was durable at the excessive temperatures, which represented that the aircraft’s leading edges of the airfoil were greater than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (“Creating the Blackbird”, 2014). Another design that was built upon was the F-117 Nighthawk. It was composed entirely of aluminum, with its external surfaces enveloped with radar-absorbent material bound with putty, which meant that it had to be articulately level. The slightest crack or unfastened screw would make the aircraft visible to enemy radar. The eccentric shape required a quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire system to improve its natural stability. The aircraft made its first flight on June 8, 1981 (“F-117 Nighthawk”, 2014). The vehicle included improved door design for better signature and more robust tail design for improved
The U-2 Dragon Lady is equipped with singles engines and maintains intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) requirements at high altitudes. A Distributed Common Ground System linked to the U-2 through distinct communications architectures plans target decks and advances collection for immediate action. The system provides time-responsive and immensely unstable intelligence to the National Command Authority and theater commanders to enhance situational awareness, analyze geo-political warnings and indications, manage the battlefield, and provide post-strike damage evaluations (“U-2S: Unparalleled High Altitude Reconnaissance”, 2014). The vehicle can support a large, 5,000 pound payload of cameras, sensors and data links. At current employment rates, the aircraft is adequate of sustaining service through 2025 and beyond. It is forty-percent larger today with new engines and sensors. Types of sensors that were invested in over the last 15 years were the enhanced radar sensors and SIGINT sensors. Also, the General Electric turbofan engine was invested in for raised efficiency and power (“U-2S: Unparalleled High Altitude Reconnaissance”, 2014). Another that was built upon was …show more content…
The difference between the A-12 and the SR-71 is that the A-12 has only one seat, while the SR-71 has two seats. The second seat was added for a Reconnaissance Systems Officer and transported more fuel than the A-12 (“Creating the Blackbird”, 2014). The SR-71 was faster than a 0.5 caliber sniper bullet during a 75 nanometer radius turn. The airframe, which was made of ninety-three percent titanium, supported the strength of stainless steel, a proportionately light weight, and was durable at the excessive temperatures, which represented that the aircraft’s leading edges of the airfoil were greater than 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit (“Creating the Blackbird”, 2014). Another design that was built upon was the F-117 Nighthawk. It was composed entirely of aluminum, with its external surfaces enveloped with radar-absorbent material bound with putty, which meant that it had to be articulately level. The slightest crack or unfastened screw would make the aircraft visible to enemy radar. The eccentric shape required a quadruple-redundant fly-by-wire system to improve its natural stability. The aircraft made its first flight on June 8, 1981 (“F-117 Nighthawk”, 2014). The vehicle included improved door design for better signature and more robust tail design for improved