Lockheed Martin UK unveiled a new unmanned turret for armoured vehicles at World Defense Show 2026, held in Riyadh from 8-11 February. At the event, the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi firm Eraf Industrial Co. Ltd. for future opportunities related to this new product.
The MoU was signed on 10 February, and Lockheed Martin stated, “Under the agreement, the companies will explore collaboration to enable technology transfer, share engineering and production expertise, support investment, advance research and development, and pursue other activities.”
The mock-up of the modular turret – currently and unimaginatively called the “Lockheed Martin Eraf Uncrewed Turret” – exhibited at WDS 2026 had a simulated 30mm Bushmaster cannon, 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, Javelin antitank missile, smoke grenade launchers, a dozen launchers for drones, and two 75mm tubes for loitering munitions. It also uses Lockheed Martin’s SkyKeeper command-and-control system.
However, representatives noted the turret is agnostic in terms of weapons and sensors. It could fit any cannon from 25mm to 40mm, for example, including Lockheed Martin’s CT40 40mm cased telescoped weapon system. The mock-up had a Thales sight, but this could change to something else depending on customer requirements.
The turret can be up-armoured, and it was shown fitted with radar panels and a camera system giving 360° coverage. This suggests it could be fitted on unmanned ground vehicles, for instance.
Weighing approximately 3 tonnes, the turret would fit on 6×6 and 8×8 vehicles, as well as tracked hulls. With an elevation range from -10° to +75°, the multi-mission turret could perform short-range air defence.
Mark Langley, head of complex systems, Lockheed Martin UK, said, “By combining Lockheed Martin’s two decades of experience in complex turret systems and defence manufacturing with Eraf’s growing in-kingdom manufacturing capacity, we’re creating a partnership that’s focused on delivering operationally relevant capability at pace.”
Alex King, Lockheed Martin UK’s business development lead for complex systems, said his company had a pedigree designing turrets, including those for the British Army’s Warrior and Ajax. Indeed, the new turret is evolved from its existing design.
Currently, the Royal Saudi Land Forces do not field an unmanned turret, other than remote weapon stations. Lockheed Martin and Eraf are thus eyeing forthcoming opportunities for such a turret.
Representatives said Saudi Arabia has an upcoming requirement for a 30mm unmanned turret, probably for an 8×8 vehicle, although it is unclear what platform this will be. This requirement is not expected to eventuate till next year at the earliest.
This suits Lockheed Martin and Eraf, because the prototype turret is still in design and should be conducting live-firing tests by mid-2027. One representative told Asian Military Review, “We’d really like to have Saudi Arabia be the first country that procures this brand new turret.”
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Military Industries wants to promote localisation efforts under Vision 2030, so numerous foreign companies are seeking similar tie-ups.
As Lockheed Martin shared, “By combining their unique expertise and complementary skills, Lockheed Martin and Eraf seek to create Saudi sovereign capability and strengthen the kingdom’s defence industrial base.”
King said there were global opportunities for the turret, including the UK and NATO members. Furthermore, the turret could be retrofitted to existing armoured vehicles and meet growing demand for counter-drone systems.
As King said, “It’s really important that we recognise that multiple countries are not only looking at a new IFV programme at this stage, or a new turreted vehicle programme. This could be a retrofit as well, so you could have a significant bump in capability by just upgrading the turrets and not necessarily the vehicle as well, at a much lower cost.”
by Gordon Arthur
