11 Feb 03. A Lockheed Martin spokesman told BATTLESPACE that, “We are exploring a number of options with regard to our future participation in the Watchkeeper programme, but the precise details and scope of our involvement are yet to be determined. We have had constructive talks with the successful bidders although at this stage, for commercial reasons, we are reluctant to go into further details.
“For LM, Watchkeeper was simply one avenue that we were progressing in the broad ISTAR and command and control environment. Indeed there are a wide range of LM products that could be applicable to this and other similar programmes in the future.
“We are maintaining a keen interest in the JUEP programme, which runs in parallel to Watchkeeper, and are looking to feed technology and capability into the UK’s broader based unmanned ISTAR requirement through this route as well.”