Oct 2, 2026 · 54 min
Defense makers race to build cheaper autonomous systems
Bloomberg Tech Screentime Special
The episode shows how faster procurement, AI, autonomy, and advanced manufacturing are reshaping the economics and strategy of modern defense.
- 1Lockheed Martin is shifting from bespoke platforms toward connected, autonomous systems developed through faster procurement cycles.
- 2Counter-drone defenses must evolve quickly while matching the cost of increasingly cheap incoming threats.
- 3Advanced manufacturing could compress defense production timelines, but scaling requires qualification, capital, and industrial partnerships.
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At Skunk Works, the discussion of VECTIS turns Lockheed’s long drone-development history into a concrete vision of autonomous aircraft working within connected families of systems.
The brief
Recorded at Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works, the special examines a defense industry moving beyond long procurement cycles toward faster, more flexible development.
Jim Taiclet argues that future air dominance will come from connected families of systems, including autonomous aircraft, rather than a single flagship platform.
Fortem’s John Gruen details how radar, layered defenses, and lessons from Ukraine are driving the counter-drone market—and Lockheed’s partnership strategy.
Lockheed executives describe secure AI, crewed-uncrewed teaming, quantum technologies, and collaboration on F-35 sensor challenges as parts of one technology roadmap.
Divergent’s Lucas Singer says advanced manufacturing can move from engineering inputs to flight-ready vehicles in months, though qualification, capital, and scale remain hurdles.
The central tension is economic as much as technological: defense companies must field capable autonomous systems quickly without making them costlier than the threats they counter.
Featuring
Mentioned
Skunk Works
VECTIS
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