Lockheed Martin Skunk Works Unveils Next-Generation ‘Vectis’ Stealth Drone, as Rumors of Secretive SR-72 “Son of Blackbird” Persist

The Debrief ^ | September 23, 2025 | Micah Hanks

[Red Badger]

Lockheed Martin’s legendary Skunk Works has revealed its new next-generation stealth drone, developed to provide the U.S. and its allies with a formidable edge in achieving air dominance.

On Sunday, the company unveiled Vectis, which the aerospace company says represents a new class of collaborative combat aircraft (CCA) that combines elements of survivability with lethality and overall cost-effectiveness by assembling Skunk Works’ many decades of fighter development and stealth design with modern autonomous systems.

With its official release, the Vectis drone is now positioned as an affordable framework for U.S. air power that can be integrated easily with crewed aircraft like the F-35.

OJ Sanchez, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works’ vice president and general manager, called the autonomous aircraft “the culmination of our expertise in complex systems integration, advanced fighter development, and autonomy.”

The announcement of the new Vectis stealth drone, which is currently entering development, arrives amid ongoing speculation about Lockheed Martin’s development of the SR-72, a proposed successor to the legendary SR-71 Blackbird, which the company originally announced more than a decade ago.

Vectis Integration and Capabilities

As the developer behind Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs, Skunk Works has conducted research and development behind some of the U.S.’s most advanced, highly classified, and exotic aircraft for more than half a century.

Over the weekend, the company said Vectis was engineered with compatibility in mind and for operating as part of a “Family of Systems” comprising the U.S.’s efforts to ensure next-generation air dominance.

At the heart of the ethos behind its development, Vectis was designed to be compatible with control systems that include Lockheed Martin’s own MDCX, which allows it to be integrated smoothly across a wide range of command-and-control networks. This allows the aircraft to be optimally suited for precision strikes, as well as reconnaissance, surveillance, electronic warfare, and intelligence missions.

Adding to its formidability is Vectis’s support capability for multi-domain connectivity, whether deployed independently or teamed with piloted fighters.

Range, Survivability, and Architecture

In addition to its wide range of aerial mission capabilities, Vectis was developed with range and endurance in mind, which are expected to make the drone an optimal choice for efforts in areas such as the Indo-Pacific and European theaters.

Fitted with Skunk Works’ state-of-the-art stealth technologies, the drone’s stealth capabilities also make it uniquely survivable in hostile environments. However, a main selling point Lockheed stressed with the rollout of its new drone over the weekend was the manufacturing cost in proportion to performance, which the company says will align well with U.S. defense priorities to expand CCA fleets at scale.

Rumors of “The Son of Blackbird” Persist

For years now, Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works division has fueled speculation about the SR-72, a proposed hypersonic successor to the legendary SR-71 Blackbird.

First announced in 2013, the SR-72 was originally envisioned as an unmanned aircraft capable of speeds six times the speed of sound, with advanced reconnaissance and strike capabilities—features which do bear some similarity to the new Vectis stealth drone.

Last August, The Debrief reported that some indications suggested that the secretive aircraft—or perhaps something conceptually similar—could potentially be nearing production, based on budget overruns tied to a classified Lockheed program that may hint at pre-contract investments in such a project. Lockheed Martin provided no details in response to queries made by The Debrief at that time.

With hardly any updates since the initial announcement involving the SR-72 more than a decade ago, analysts had speculated that initial test flights could be expected sometime in 2025, with operational readiness projected for the early 2030s.

Still, questions have lingered over the cost of the project and whether its affordability could become a complicating factor amid competing defense projects, leaving the fate of the so-called “son of Blackbird” uncertain. As the company rolled out its new design on Sunday, Lockheed Martin’s emphasis on the affordability of the Vectis stealth drone seemingly underscores such concerns that focus primarily on production costs.

A Timeline for Takeoff

The Vectis drone is currently entering development, with initial systems for the next-generation drone currently entering testing. The timeline for delivery is an ambitious one: Lockheed Martin aims to have design, construction, and test flights all completed within the next two years.

Overall, by placing its bets on agility and affordability with its multi-role stealth drone, Vectis could very well put the company on a path toward redefining the balance between crewed and uncrewed aircraft, delivering a blend of operational flexibility and survivability that may set new precedents in the aerial battlespace.

“We’re not simply building a new platform,” Sanchez said in Sunday’s statement. “[W]e’re creating a new paradigm for air power based on a highly capable, customizable and affordable agile drone framework.”

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Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

[RayChuang88]

This research drone is likely limited to just over Mach 1 speed, and could fly as high as 70,000 feet. It’s more a technology demonstrator since the Northrop Grumman RQ-180 is already operational with similar flying characteristics.