Kristen Smith 
- The undefinitized award covers software development and integrated testing
- Lockheed will support the MQ-25 test program
- The contract was not competitively procured
Lockheed Martin has received a potential $57.7 million contract to develop and test multi-domain combat systems, or MDCX, software for the Navy’s MQ-25 test program.
The Department of War said Wednesday the work covers a qualification-tested software build and technical field support for MDCX systems already installed. Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Carrier-based unmanned aviation sits at the intersection of autonomy software and human-machine control, both of which are on the agenda at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2027 Defense R&D Summit on Feb. 4. The event will cover unmanned systems, trusted AI and autonomy, human-machine interfaces and UxS, alongside keynotes from Department of War and national security technology officials. Save your seat now.
What Are the MDCX Contract Terms?
The award is undefinitized, meaning the Navy authorized Lockheed Martin to begin work before the two sides settled the final price and terms.
The combined cost-reimbursable and firm-fixed-price contract was not competitively procured. The Navy obligated over $14 million at the time of award, drawing $11.1 million from fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation funds and $3.1 million from fiscal 2026 other procurement funds.
Work runs through September 2027 across three sites: Marietta, Georgia; Fort Worth, Texas; and Patuxent River.
What Is MDCX?
MDCX is the mission planning and execution software within the MD-5C ground control station, which Navy operators use to command the MQ-25A Stingray. Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works unit builds the platform and describes it as an open architecture system capable of controlling multiple unmanned vehicles from a single interface.
Where Has MDCX Been Fielded?
The Navy stood up its second operational MD-5C in August aboard the USS Ronald Reagan, five months after the first entered service on the USS Theodore Roosevelt in March. Both stations sit in the Unmanned Air Warfare Center, the onboard command center for unmanned carrier aviation. Lockheed announced the second installation the same day the contract award was announced.
The MDCX platform’s first live flight control demonstration occurred in November 2024, when the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control Station in Maryland remotely piloted a General Atomics MQ-20 Avenger flying over California. In January, Lockheed ran a demonstration in the United Kingdom in which MDCX simultaneously commanded an Indago 2 quadcopter and a Stalker fixed-wing aircraft alongside a U.K.-developed mission system.
