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Lockheed Touts Small Tactical Craft for Navy

By John C. Marcario, Assistant Editor

Lockheed Martin wants to have its newly built Small Tactical Craft (STC) under contract by January. The 39-foot ship, which can be manned or unmanned, completed sea trials last August in Port Angeles, Wash., at Armstrong Marine.

"No one has told us we are crazy and to go away, so I would say [the reaction] has been positive," Capt. Robinson Harris, Lockheed Martin director of advanced concepts, said at the Sea-Air-Space Exposition at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, National Harbor, Md., May 5.

Lockheed built one model of the STC and has no plans to build any more until has a contract for the vessel. The model was built with the company's own money. The Bethesda, Md.,-headquartered Lockheed would not disclose how much it cost to build.

Harris said the STC was built mainly to serve as an unmanned platform vehicle for the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program. It also has been proposed as a manned boat for special operations.

Lockheed understands the Navy does not have a critical need for unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) now because there are only two LCSs in the water, but Harris said the company believes the market will pick up when more LCSs are built.

"We have a product to offer ... when the Navy is ready to re-engage in the USV program we will be ready for it," Harris said.

The aluminum-built STC is powered by two 850-horsepower engines, weighs 17,500 pounds and drives at speeds of 35 knots. It has a crew of three people.