The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American defense and aerospace manufacturer. It is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland, United States. The company was formed by the merger of the Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995.
Lockheed Martin operates 4 divisions: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (39% of 2024 revenues); Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control (18% of 2024 revenues); Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems (24% of 2024 revenues); and Lockheed Martin Space (18% of 2024 revenues).
As of 2023, it is the top contractor of the United States federal government, and has been since at least 2008. As of 2024, 73% of the company's revenue came from the federal government, including 65% from the United States Department of Defense. In 2024, 26% of revenue was from sales of the F-35 fighter.
Lockheed Martin is also a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It also provides products and services to the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency. It is involved in surveillance and information processing for the CIA, the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Pentagon, the Census Bureau, and the Postal Service.
The company has received the Collier Trophy six times, including in 2001 for being part of developing the X-35/F-35B LiftFan Propulsion System United States Patent 5209428 (pdf of original) and in 2018 for the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto-GCAS). Lockheed Martin currently produces the F-35 and leads the international supply chain, leads the team for the development and implementation of technology solutions for the new USAF Space Fence (AFSSS replacement), and is the primary contractor for the development of the Orion command module. The company also invests in healthcare systems, renewable energy systems, intelligent energy distribution, and compact nuclear fusion.Emily W. Prehoda, et al. 2017. U.S. Strategic Solar Photovoltaic-Powered Microgrid Deployment for Enhanced National Security. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews 78, 167–175.
The company also manufactures the MIM-104 Patriot air-defense system and its PAC-3 MSE interceptor. In 2026, Lockheed Martin announced plans to increase PAC-3 MSE production to 2,000 interceptors annually by the end of the decade, expanding production capacity in response to increased demand and the need to replenish U.S. and allied inventories.
History
1990s
Merger talks between Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta began in March 1994, with the companies announcing their $10 billion planned merger on August 30, 1994. The headquarters for the combined companies would be at Martin Marietta headquarters in North Bethesda, Maryland. The deal was finalized on March 15, 1995, when the two companies' shareholders approved the merger. The segments of the two companies not retained by the new company formed the basis for L-3 Communications, a mid-size defense contractor in its own right. Lockheed Martin also later spun off the materials company Martin Marietta Materials.
The company's executives received large bonuses directly from the government as a result of the merger. Norman R. Augustine, who was at the time CEO of Martin Marietta, received an $8.2 million bonus.
Both companies contributed important products to the new portfolio. Lockheed products included the Trident missile, P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance airplanes, F-117 Nighthawk, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor, C-130 Hercules, A-4AR Fightinghawk and the DSCS-3 satellite. Martin Marietta products included Titan rockets, Sandia National Laboratories (management contract acquired in 1993), Space Shuttle External Tank, Viking 1 and Viking 2 landers, the Transfer Orbit Stage (under subcontract to Orbital Sciences Corporation) and various satellite models.
On April 22, 1996, Lockheed Martin completed the acquisition of Loral Corporation's defense electronics and system integration businesses for $9.1 billion, the deal having been announced in January. The remainder of Loral became Loral Space & Communications. Lockheed Martin abandoned plans for an $8.3 billion merger with Northrop Grumman on July 16, 1998, due to government concerns over the potential strength of the new group; Lockheed/Northrop would have had control of 25% of the Department of Defense's procurement budget.
For the Mars Climate Orbiter, Lockheed Martin incorrectly provided NASA with software using measurements in US Customary force units when metric units were expected; this resulted in the loss of the Orbiter at a cost of $125 million. The development of the spacecraft cost $193 million.
In addition to their military products, in the 1990s Lockheed Martin developed the texture mapping chip for the Sega Model 2 arcade system board and the entire graphics system for the Sega Model 3, which were used to power some of the most popular arcade games of the time.
2000s
In May 2001, Lockheed Martin sold Lockheed Martin Control Systems to BAE Systems. On November 27, 2000, Lockheed completed the sale of its Aerospace Electronic Systems business to BAE Systems for $1.67 billion, a deal announced in July 2000. This group encompassed Sanders Associates, Fairchild Systems, and Lockheed Martin Space Electronics & Communications. In 2001, Lockheed Martin won the contract to build the F-35 Lightning II; this was the largest fighter aircraft procurement project since the F-16, with an initial order of 3,000 aircraft. In 2001, Lockheed Martin settled a nine–year investigation conducted by NASA's Office of Inspector General with the assistance of the Defense Contract Audit Agency. The company paid the United States government $7.1 million based on allegations that its predecessor, Lockheed Engineering Science Corporation, submitted false lease costs claims to NASA.LOCKHEED MARTIN PAYS NASA $7.1 MILLION SETTLEMENT . U.S. Department of Justice, United States Attorney Press Release, July 10, 2003.
On July 8, 2003, a Lockheed Martin plant in Meridian, Mississippi became the scene of a racially motivated mass shooting when an assembly line worker murdered six co-workers (five of whom were black) and wounded eight before killing himself. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Lockheed Martin's President refused to disclose whether company officials were previously aware of any red flags regarding the worker. The company had launched its own investigation into the worker's behavior prior to the massacre following complaints from numerous black employees regarding incidents involving the worker. He had been ordered to attend anger management courses and diversity training but refused.
On May 12, 2006, The Washington Post reported that when Robert Stevens took control of Lockheed Martin in 2004, he faced the dilemma that within 10 years, 100,000 of the about 130,000 Lockheed Martin employees – more than three-quarters – would be retiring.Dutt, Jill. "Taking an Engineer's Approach at Lockheed Martin." Washington Post, May 1, 2006. On August 31, 2006, Lockheed Martin won a $3.9 billion contract from NASA to design and build the CEV capsule, later named Orion for the Ares I rocket in the Constellation Program. In 2009, NASA reduced the capsule crew requirements from the initial six seats to four for transport to the International Space Station.
In August 2007, Lockheed Martin acquired 3Dsolve, a Cary, North Carolina, company that created simulations and training modules for the military and corporate clients.Norton, Frank; LaGrone, Sam (August 21, 2007). "Aircraft Maker Buys 3Dsolv e". The News and Observer. pp. D1. Retrieved February 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Renamed Lockheed Martin 3D Learning Systems, the company remained in Cary with 3D's founder Richard Boyd as director.Norton, Frank; LaGrone, Sam (August 21, 2007). "Aircraft Maker Buys 3Dsolve". The News and Observer. pp. D3. Retrieved February 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. The name was eventually shortened to Lockheed Martin 3D Solutions.
On August 13, 2008, Lockheed Martin acquired the government business unit of Nantero, Inc., a company that had developed methods and processes for incorporating carbon nanotubes in next-generation electronic devices. In 2009, Lockheed Martin bought Unitech.
2010s
On November 18, 2010, Lockheed Martin announced that it would be closing its Eagan, Minnesota, location by 2013 to reduce costs and optimize capacity at its locations nationwide.Hult, Karla. Kare 11 News, November 19, 2010. In January 2011, Lockheed Martin agreed to pay the U.S. Government $2 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false claims on a U.S. government contract for that amount. The allegations came from a contract with the Naval Oceanographic Office Major Shared Resource Center in Mississippi.
On May 25, 2011, Lockheed Martin bought the first Quantum Computing System from D-Wave Systems. Lockheed Martin and D-Wave will collaborate to realize the benefits of a computing platform based upon a quantum annealing processor, as applied to some of Lockheed Martin's most challenging computation problems. Lockheed Martin established a multi-year contract that includes one system, maintenance, and services.
On May 28, 2011, it was reported that a cyberattack using previously stolen EMC files had broken through to sensitive materials at the contractor. It is unclear if the Lockheed incident is the specific prompt whereby on June 1, 2011, the new United States military strategy, makes explicit that a cyberattack is casus belli for a traditional act of war.
On March 3, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Lockheed Martin had agreed to settle allegations that the defense contractor had sold overpriced perishable tools used on many contracts. The DOJ said the allegations were based specifically on the subsidiary Tools & Metals Inc's inflation of costs between 1998 and 2005, which Lockheed Martin then passed on to the U.S. government under its contracts. Further, in March 2006, Todd B. Loftis, a former TMI president, was sentenced to 87 months in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $20 million following his guilty plea.
On July 10, 2012, Lockheed Martin announced it was cutting its workforce by 740 workers to reduce costs and remain competitive as necessary for future growth. On November 27, 2012, Lockheed Martin announced that Marillyn Hewson would become the corporation's chief executive officer on January 1, 2013.
On January 7, 2013, Lockheed Martin Canada announced that it would be acquiring the engine maintenance, repair, and overhaul assets from Aveos Fleet Performance in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. On February 20, 2013, Lockheed Martin Corp complied with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, agreeing to pay a $19.5 million lawsuit to conclude a securities fraud class-action legal battle that had accused the company of deceiving shareholders in regards to expectations for the company's information technology division. On July 3, 2013, Lockheed Martin announced that it was partnering with DreamHammer to use the company's software for integrated command and control of its unmanned aerial vehicles. Lockheed Martin teamed up with Bell Helicopter to propose the V-280 Valor tiltrotor for the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program."Bell Helicopter and Lockheed Martin team on V-280 Valor" AirFramer, September 9, 2013. Accessed: September 9, 2013. In September 2013, Lockheed Martin acquired the Scotland-based tech firm, Amor Group, saying the deal would aid its plans to expand internationally and into non-defense markets. On November 14, 2013, Lockheed announced they would be closing their Akron, Ohio facility laying off 500 employees and transferring other employees to other locations.