Lockheed Martin's thruster tech predates Tesla's flying Roadster

Tesla reintroduced its long-delayed Roadster on October 15, claiming the supercar can perform flying maneuvers using thrusters, though it cannot truly fly in the traditional sense. The Roadster uses two high-pressure air tanks and ten nozzles to fire compressed air, enabling controlled jumps and flips, with the full setup exclusive to the Rocket trim. Tesla says the thrusters are not approved for public road use. Lockheed Martin's Multiple Kill Vehicle project, developed from 2004 to 2009 for missile defense, similarly used thrusters to change direction and destroy multiple ballistic threats, though it burned fuel in hot-fire tests unlike Tesla's cold-gas system.