Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works takes 3D printed drone from concept to hardware in under a year
$25 million investment in Divergent underpins digital design-to-production collaboration on UAS prototype
Lockheed Martin‘s Skunk Works division and advanced manufacturing company Divergent produced a nine-foot wingspan unmanned aircraft system (UAS) from initial concept to first article in less than 12 months, using digital engineering and additive manufacturing to rapidly iterate designs and build hardware prototypes.
The effort drew on Divergent’s production system, which integrates design, analysis, manufacturing, and production assembly into a single digital environment. That architecture allowed the two companies to compress a development timeline that would typically extend across several years under conventional manufacturing methods.
Partnership rooted in strategic investment
The Replicator drone program grew out of a broader partnership between the two companies. In 2024, Lockheed Martin made a $25 million strategic investment in Divergent, with the stated goal of exploring applications across multiple mission areas, including advanced munitions and vehicle concepts developed through Skunk Works.
Divergent, which specializes in additively manufactured weapon system structures, offers a production model that reduces dependence on traditional supply chains and allows faster response to shifting operational requirements. Lockheed Martin stated the approach is being assessed across the wider enterprise, spanning munitions components, aerospace, and rotorcraft applications.
Defense industrial base context
The Replicator collaboration reflects growing pressure on the defense industrial base to shorten the path from engineering to fielded capability. Lockheed Martin reported that while concepts of this nature remain at early stages, they are informing how future systems could be developed and produced at volume to meet evolving mission demands.
