U.S. Navy expands drone command-and-control capacity with second MD-5C system from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works

Lockheed Martin said the U.S. Navy is expanding its unmanned aircraft command-and-control capacity by fielding a second MD-5C system. The company described the addition as a way to boost the Navy’s ability to manage unmanned aerial systems, or UAS, during operations, and it credited its Skunk Works portfolio, including the MDCX™ command-and-control software layer, for powering the capability.

The MD-5C is positioned by Lockheed Martin as a UAS command-and-control platform, a type of system that helps operators receive information from drones and manage missions such as routing, tasking, and operational status. Command and control is a central requirement for fleets of unmanned aircraft because it links sensors, communications, and operator decision-making into a single operational workflow.

Lockheed Martin said the second MD-5C is powered by Skunk Works MDCX™. The company did not, in the announcement as provided for this review, spell out technical specifics such as the system architecture, throughput targets, integration details, or performance figures. It did, however, frame MDCX as the software element enabling the command-and-control functionality on the MD-5C platform.

In its announcement, Lockheed Martin tied the update to Skunk Works capabilities. Skunk Works is the company’s internal name for specialized advanced development work across aerospace and defense programs, typically associated with rapid engineering, prototyping, and integration for complex technology needs. For the Navy’s purposes, that matters because UAS command-and-control systems often must interface with communications links, mission payloads, and existing operational tools.

Lockheed Martin did not provide in the available release any contract value, delivery timeline beyond the announcement date, or details about where the second MD-5C will be employed operationally. It also did not disclose what incremental capacity increase “doubles” refers to, such as operator stations, simultaneous aircraft management, or mission sets, instead keeping the emphasis on expanding overall command-and-control capacity.

Broader demand for UAS command-and-control has increased as navies seek to scale unmanned capabilities for surveillance, reconnaissance, and potentially other mission roles. Expanding capacity can be operationally significant because the bottleneck is often not the unmanned aircraft themselves, but the ability to coordinate them reliably through communications, decision cycles, and mission execution workflows.

Even with the headline announcement, several specifics remain unclear from the provided text. The company did not disclose technical performance metrics, system configuration details, or integration scope with Navy command systems. It also did not describe whether this addition affects any specific exercise, unit, or operational concept, beyond stating that the Navy is increasing capacity with a second MD-5C.

What to watch next is whether Lockheed Martin or the Navy provides further information on deployments, operational results, and integration milestones for the MD-5C and MDCX combination. Those updates would help clarify how the capacity increase is measured and how quickly additional unmanned aircraft operations can be supported as demand grows.