Lockheed Martin is opening a new technology center in its Palo Alto research and development facility to focus on advanced optical systems that could be used in satellites, lasers, telescopes, and targeting systems, the company announced. The Optical Payload Center of Excellence will unite design teams into one “fast acting, collaborative unit to develop optical payload technologies that are more powerful, precise, and affordably than today’s systems,” the company said in a Sept. 10 release. The center will unite experts from across the world, from Lockheed, its industry partners, and leading research universities, allowing those experts to collaborate, develop, test, and produce advanced optical payloads and to find ways to deliver new capabilities faster and more affordable, states the release. The center “will benefit from the digital tapestry that links all stages of development, from initial concept and design to production and qualification,” said Rick Ambrose, Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Space Systems.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.