• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Loadout Room

The Loadout Room

Professional Gear Reviews

Hardcore Gear and Adventure

Menu
  • Shooting
        • Pistol
        • Pistol Accessories
        • Rifle
        • Rifle Accessories
        • Shotgun
        • Machine Guns
        • Air Guns
        • Ammunition
        • Optics and Sights
        • Weapon Lights
        • Tips & How-To
        • Concealed Carry
        • Holsters
        • Suppressors
        • Precision Rifle Shooting
        • Firearms Training
        • 1A Gun to Ride the River With: The Smith & Wesson 686
        • The Tristar folding shotgun is ready for your wilderness adventuresThe Tristar folding shotgun is ready for your wilderness adventures
        • maxim defense cqb stock (8)The Maxim Defense CQB Stock: Short and Sweet
        • Perfecting your zero | A little help goes a LONG wayPerfecting your zero | A little help goes a LONG way
    • Close
  • Gear Reviews
      • Mission Gear
      • Camping Gear
      • Survival Gear
      • Medical Gear
      • Adventure & Travel
      • Knives & Tools
      • Overland
      • Disaster Preparedness
      • Footwear
      • Womens Gear & Clothing
        • RIP-MVehicle Preparedness: Fast access to essential items | Grey Man Tactical RIP-M
        • Midland radioOverland Essential | Midland Radio MXT275 | GXT1000
        • ppGrab your gear and go | Here’s everything you’d need to build an adventure go bag
        • Scrubba Washbag: Keep your clothes clean in the fieldScrubba Washbag: Keep your clothes clean in the field
    • Close
  • Men’s Lifestyle
      • Fitness
      • EDC
      • Eyewear
      • Watches
      • Electronics & Technology
      • Downtime
      • Mens Clothing & Accessories
      • Manly Skills
      • Style & Grooming
      • Gentleman Drinks
      • Crate Club
        • The Outdoor Edge ParaClaw: A concealed stingerThe Outdoor Edge ParaClaw: A concealed stinger
        • How to determine how long you have before the sun setsHow to determine how long you have before the sun sets
        • fireWilderness survival expert breaks down how to build a fire
        • 5.11 Tactical Expedition Long Sleeve Shirt5.11 Tactical Expedition Long Sleeve Shirt, SWAT Tested and Approved
    • Close
  • News
  • Video Demo
  • Shop
News

How Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunkworks is beating China’s ‘carrier killers’

March 24, 2017 by The Loadout Room Leave a Comment

How Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunkworks is beating China's 'carrier killers'

WASHINGTON — The US Navy’s 10 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers have long been the envy of the world with unrivaled ability to project power on any shore anywhere on the globe — but they’re in danger.

US adversaries — China specifically — have purpose-built very long range missiles known as “carrier killers” which outrange the carriers by a healthy 300 or so miles.

But thanks to Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunkworks, which developed the SR-71 Blackbird in 32 months, that problem may soon get answered with the MQ-25A tanker drone.

Rob Weiss, general manager of Skunkworks, told reporters at Lockheed Martin’s Arlington, Virginia office this week that the Department of Defense and Lockheed were “frankly doing all the right things to accelerate this program and get it in the hands of the warfighter sooner rather than later.”

It’s no secret that new weapons acquisition in the US military can take a ridiculously long time, but Weiss, a Navy man of the 1980s, feels the need for speed.

The addition of a flying, unmanned tanker that could have some stealth integrated will “provide more legs, more reach for both the F-18 and the F-35,” said Weiss.

With China’s unilateral land grabs in the South China Sea and its burgeoning navy and missile force prowess, Weiss finds it “imperative, frankly, to national security” that the US extend the range of its carrier strike aircraft. Giving the US Navy’s jets more range means the carriers can stay out very long range missiles in China and Russia‘s inventories.


Continue reading on Business Insider

Photo courtesy of US Navy

Share This

More From The Loadout Room

Comments

Primary Sidebar

Email Newsletter

Sign up to receive email updates daily and to hear what's going on with us!

Find Us on Facebook

The Loadout Room

Recent Comments

  • berniyin on Gear in the Wild: Astronaut uncovers relic aboard the International Space Station
  • berniyin on Gear in the Wild: The right gear for chemical attacks (or for when you forget your gym bag in the trunk)
  • berniyin on Gear in the Wild: Divers work to recover bodies of lost WWII bomber crew

Tags

9mm AIR FORCE SPECIAL OPERATIONS AR-15 arms guide CCW concealed carry defense EDC Erik Meisner everyday carry firearms fitness GBGuns gear Glock Guns Handgun Headline loadout room LONG TAB MARSOC Military Navy Seal pistol preparation preparedness PT PT PREP Rex Nanorum Rifle Selection self defense sfas Shooting socom SOF SOF PT sofrep Special Operations SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES Survival TAG thearmsguide Training US ARMY SPECIAL FORCES

Latest From SOFREP

Life

Navy SEAL Sniper Explains How to Win With Your Mind

News

Marines Put Assault Amphibious Vehicles Back in the Water for the First Time Since One Sank and Killed Nine Servicemembers

Europe

Nervous Norway Expands US Military Presence

War Stories

Air Force Travel Woes

© Copyright 2021 SOFREP Media Group · All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers