Contractor Profile: Lockheed Martin

Written by Dabney B. on Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Lockheed Martin gets a lot of press attention, and for good reason. They are one of the world’s most largest defense contractors, and one of the primary suppliers of weapons and aircraft to the U.S. Air Force.

Lockheed Martin wasn’t always the military titan that it is today. It wasn’t until the Lockheed Corporation, an aerospace company, merged with Martin Marietta, a chemical and electronics corporation, that Lockheed Martin was born.

This $10 billion planned merger was a truly epic event, with each corporation bringing unique and powerful technology to the table. Martin Marietta supplied Viking landers, a transfer orbit stage, and space shuttle tanks, while Lockheed contributed the F-22 Raptor, the C-130 Hercules, and the Trident missile.

This marriage of military contracting giants created a corporation that could dominate advances in technology in air and in space, enabling them to answer every need of the U.S. Air Force.

Perhaps the most momentous event for Lockheed Martin was in 2001 when order valium online they secured the contract to build the F-35 Lightning II. With that contract in hand, Lockheed Martin would be able to supply the U.S. and several of its allies with state-of-the-art stealth fighter aircraft for years to come.

While the F-35 is certainly the company’s most famous contribution to the world of aerial warfare, it is by no means the company’s only bragging point. The company shattered speed records with their SR-71 Blackbird, created the world’s first hit-to-kill missile, the PAC-3, and became NASA’s industry partner for manned space missions.

With allied countries continually signing onto the F-35 JSF program, it looks as though Lockheed Martin’s position as a leading military contractor will be secure for years to come. As these countries continue to fund Lockheed Martin, this American corporation will keep producing some of the world’s most fearsome and useful aircraft, such as the STVOL F-35B variant, the C-130 Hercules, and the K-MAX power lift helicopter.

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