• 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
        • m243The M24: America’s Headhunter
        • skorpFull-Auto Fun — Shooting the full-Auto vz. 61 Škorpion
        • p320-full-leftSIG Sauer M17/M18/P320 Pistol Just Can’t Seem to Escape Safety Controversies
        • TISAS_10100520_1__98179Tisas 1911A1 U.S. Army Review: Best Budget .45 ACP WW2 1911 Clone?
    • Close
  • Gear Reviews
      • Mission Gear
      • Camping Gear
      • Survival Gear
      • Medical Gear
      • Adventure & Travel
      • Knives & Tools
      • Overland
      • Disaster Preparedness
      • Footwear
      • Womens Gear & Clothing
        • Hunting in TexasThese 5 ATV Dealers Will Get You Ready For Hunting Season in Texas
        • ac65a540-2ef3-4598-8d11-afdf53f46e94.__CR0,0,970,600_PT0_SX970_V1___Streamlight ProTac Rail Mount HL-X: A Thoroughly Bright Review
        • Bluetti 2 handsfree power backpackBluetti Handsfree 2 Review: The Ultimate Power Backpack for Off-Grid Adventurers
        • The Gallagator 10 day pack on the shoreline next to a hiking trail.Day Pack – Mystery Ranch Gallagator 10 – The Best Yet?
    • Close
  • Men’s Lifestyle
      • Fitness
      • EDC
      • Eyewear
      • Watches
      • Electronics & Technology
      • Downtime
      • Mens Clothing & Accessories
      • Manly Skills
      • Style & Grooming
      • Gentleman Drinks
      • Crate Club
        • Tom and Blake Sell TeaHow Sasquatch Tea Is Revitalizing a Stagnant Tea Market With Veterans and Outdoorsmen in Mind
        • redcat-blackwidow-articleheaderWar of Words: In the Ultra-Competitive Defense Tech Industry, Storytelling is a Secret Weapon
        • Photoroom_20250525_074933Juggernaut Tactical Frame Review: The Best Upgrade for Your 365
        • craft holstersCraft Holsters Makarov Tuckable IWB Holster Report
    • Close
  • News
  • Video Demo
  • Buying Guides
  • Shop
  • Advertise
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

Most Read

  • Mossberg 930: the affordable 12 gauge auto-loader
    Mossberg 930: the affordable 12 gauge auto-loader
  • Mossberg Shockwave Versus Remington Tac 14
    Mossberg Shockwave Versus Remington Tac 14
  • SIG Sauer M17/M18/P320 Pistol Just Can't Seem to Escape Safety Controversies
    SIG Sauer M17/M18/P320 Pistol Just Can't Seem to Escape Safety Controversies
  • War of Words: In the Ultra-Competitive Defense Tech Industry, Storytelling is a Secret Weapon
    War of Words: In the Ultra-Competitive Defense Tech Industry, Storytelling is a Secret Weapon
  • Pyramyd AIR’s Springfield Hellcat Pro CO2 BB Pistol Is the Ultimate Dry-Fire Trainer
    Pyramyd AIR’s Springfield Hellcat Pro CO2 BB Pistol Is the Ultimate Dry-Fire Trainer

Find Us on Facebook

Recent Comments

  • Winston Smiths on Mossberg 930: the affordable 12 gauge auto-loader
  • Jared Mize on The Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife: A Commando Blade That Changed Special Forces Forever
  • GomeznSA on MAC-10: The Wild History of America’s Most Iconic (and Overrated) Submachine Gun

Latest From SOFREP

Military

How Pete Hegseth Is Rewiring the Pentagon for Drone Warfare

Editorial Cartoon

SOFREP Saturday Cartoon: From Kremlin to Casket

Expert Analysis

How America Can Help Ukraine Break Putin’s Teeth: 3 Brutal Moves to End This War for Good

Op-Ed

The Bolduc Brief: The Shifting Balance of Power in the Middle East-Netanyahu, Trump, and the Future of U.S.-Israel Relations

Military Content Group

© Copyright 2025 Military Content Group · All Rights Reserved.

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Advertisers