Lockheed Martin integrates MDCX with Xtend's XOS for unmanned control

An image of Lockheed Martin Skunk Works' MDCX system interface. (Lockheed Martin Skunk Works)

Lockheed Martin's research and development (R&D) department integrated its Multi-Domain Command and Control (MDCX) system with the Xtend Operating System (XOS) produced by Israeli company Xtend for the capability to deliver a swarm of up to five class 1 unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) via a larger class UAS, Xtend co-founder Matteo Shapira confirmed to Janes in an interview on 22 January.

“The current version is limited to a swarm of five drones, but the next iteration will open this up. Also, three to five drones are what we define today as the ‘sweet spot' in terms of autonomy versus human cognition,” Shapira said.

MDCX, developed by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works R&D department, and the XOS are agnostic when it comes to which UAS platforms they control. Payloads that can be added include weapons or sensor systems such as a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear (CBRN) detector. “The system is agnostic to whatever payloads are being mounted on the drone as long as it's supported by the XOS. We keep adding more and more payloads at every iteration, sprint, week, [and] month that are being supported by our platforms,” Shapira added.

Mission tests