Lockheed Martin said these investments are intended to help new entrants scale and deliver integrated solutions to customers facing evolving threats. The company highlighted its collaboration with Divergent as one example of this approach.
Divergent specialises in advanced manufacturing, including additively manufactured weapon system structures. Its Divergent Adaptive Production System, known as DAPS, brings design, analysis, manufacturing and production assembly into a unified, digital-first environment.
Lockheed Martin made a $25 million strategic investment in Divergent in 2024. The investment supports efforts to explore applications across multiple mission areas, including advanced munitions and a vehicle concept developed with Lockheed Martin Skunk Works called the Replicator.
The company said strengthening the defence industrial base and increasing the speed at which it can deliver have become central priorities across government and industry. During a recent visit to Divergent as part of his nationwide “Arsenal of Freedom” tour, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth viewed the Replicator as an example of emerging production technologies designed to address those challenges.
Lockheed Martin said its work with Divergent reflects the same priority of moving advanced capabilities more quickly from design to production. By pairing its aeronautical expertise with DAPS, the team demonstrated how a digital design-to-production model can work.
Using digital engineering and additive manufacturing, the team rapidly iterated designs and produced hardware prototypes. Lockheed Martin said the work took a nine-foot wingspan unmanned aircraft system from concept to first article in less than one year.
The company said Replicator-related concepts remain in the early stages. It added that the work is helping inform how future systems could be developed and scaled to meet changing mission requirements.
Divergent’s model also offers the potential for more flexible production. Lockheed Martin said it could reduce reliance on traditional supply chains and enable faster responses to changing operational needs.
Teams across the company are assessing where these methods can have the greatest effect. Potential areas include munitions components, aerospace applications and rotorcraft applications.
Lockheed Martin said its approach goes beyond exploring new technology. The company said it is focused on helping promising solutions transition to production at scale.
That includes strategic investments designed to accelerate growth and integration. Lockheed Martin said other recent investments, including work with Saildrone and Fortem Technologies, follow the same model.
Those efforts pair innovative capabilities with Lockheed Martin’s ability to integrate, scale and deliver mission-ready solutions. The company said not every concept becomes a programme of record, but each collaboration builds insight and strengthens business relationships.
Lockheed Martin said its continued work with companies such as Divergent reflects a consistent focus on innovation and faster delivery. The company said the aim is to bring forward next-generation solutions at speed and scale.
