Lockheed Martin, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Red 6 Aerospace announced a new partnership that will deliver advanced 21st Century Security capabilities across a spectrum of training and combat aircraft. The partnership will initially bring Red 6’s revolutionary augmented reality platform, the Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS), into the TF-50 and variants. The system gives pilots and ground operators new capabilities to see and interact with synthetic threats in real-time, high-speed environments. Lockheed Martin recently submitted the TF-50A variant in response to the U.S. Air Force’s February 2023 request for information for a two-seater aircraft to cover three near-term missions.
“Our vision is to help our customers leverage emerging technologies to seamlessly and securely connect all assets in the joint battlespace and enable fast and decisive action. Lockheed Martin has made significant advances across the board in digital engineering and open architectures during the past few years, as well as strategic partnerships. These are enabling us to accelerate development, production, upgrades, responsiveness and sustainment across our platforms,” said OJ Sanchez, Vice President and General Manager, Integrated Fighter Group at Lockheed Martin.
The TF-50A is configured as a light attack fighter/trainer with additional enhancements to include radar, electronic warfare system, tactical data link, and other capabilities to meet Air Combat Command requirements.
While the ATARS system is initially targeted for the TF-50 and variants, it could eventually be applied to operational Lockheed Martin platforms such as the F-16, F-22 and F-35. Red 6 is a Lockheed Martin Ventures portfolio company.
Red 6, founded in 2018, is the creator of Airborne Tactical Augmented Reality System (ATARS), Combined Augmented Reality Battlespace Operational Network (CARBON), and Augmented Reality Command and Analytic Data Environment (ARCADE). Red 6 systems are the first wide field-of-view, full color demonstrably proven outdoor augmented reality solution that operate in dynamic outdoor environments. Together, they bring virtual and constructive assets into the real-world by allowing pilots and ground operators to see synthetic threats in real-time, outdoors, and critically, in high-speed environments.
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington, D.C. area. Lockheed Martin employs approximately 115,000 employees worldwide, including about 60,000 engineers and scientists as of January 2022. Lockheed Martin is one of the largest companies in the aerospace, military support, security, and technologies industry. Lockheed Martin operates in four business segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control (MFC), Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS), and Space.
Korea Aerospace Industries is a South Korean aerospace and defense company. It was originally established as a joint venture of Samsung Aerospace, Daewoo Heavy Industries’ aerospace division, and Hyundai Space and Aircraft Company (HYSA). During 1999, KAI became more independent of its founding members, acquiring their aerospace interests at the behest of the South Korean government following the financial troubles of these companies that had resulted from the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The KAI T-50 Golden Eagle is a family of South Korean supersonic advanced jet trainers and light combat aircraft, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with Lockheed Martin.
