The Lockheed and Martin Roots (1912-1940s)
Both parent companies were founded in 1912. In San Francisco, brothers Allan and Malcolm Loughead established the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company on December 19, 1912; it was renamed the Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company in 1916 after moving to Santa Barbara, California, where it built the Model F-1 flying boat. That firm did not survive the postwar slump. In 1926 Allan reorganized the business in Hollywood as the Lockheed Aircraft Company, changing the spelling to match the name's pronunciation.
Separately, aviator Glenn Luther Martin founded the Glenn L. Martin Company on August 16, 1912. Martin became a major producer of bombers and flying boats, and his early workforce famously included future industry founders such as Donald Douglas and James "Dutch" Kindelberger. By the 1930s and 1940s both Lockheed and Martin were established American aircraft manufacturers, with Lockheed producing designs like the P-38 Lightning and Martin building bombers and patrol aircraft for World War II.
The Skunk Works and Cold War Aircraft
In 1943 Lockheed created its Advanced Development Programs division in Burbank, California, universally known as the Skunk Works, led by legendary engineer Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. Operating with small teams and unusual autonomy, it delivered a run of groundbreaking aircraft:
- The P-80 Shooting Star, the first operational U.S. jet fighter.
- The U-2, a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft that first flew in 1955 and became central to Cold War intelligence gathering.
- The SR-71 Blackbird, a Mach 3 reconnaissance aircraft that entered service in 1966 and still holds air-speed records.
Beyond the Skunk Works, Lockheed's mainstream lines produced enduring workhorses, most notably the C-130 Hercules military transport, which first flew in 1954 and remains in continuous production, one of the longest-running aircraft programs in history. Lockheed also became a major builder of commercial airliners and, later, submarine-launched ballistic missiles (the Polaris, Poseidon, and Trident programs).
Martin Marietta and the Space Age
Glenn L. Martin's company shifted decisively toward missiles and space in the postwar era, developing the Titan intercontinental ballistic missile and launch-vehicle family. In October 1961 the Glenn L. Martin Company merged with the Chicago-based American-Marietta Corporation, a producer of chemicals, paints, and construction materials, to form Martin Marietta Corporation. The combined firm spanned aerospace, electronics, and industrial materials.
Martin Marietta became a cornerstone of the U.S. space program. It built Titan rockets that launched Gemini crews and interplanetary probes, produced the Space Shuttle's external fuel tank, and manufactured spacecraft for NASA missions including the Viking Mars landers. Through the late 1980s and early 1990s the company expanded through defense-industry consolidation, notably acquiring General Electric's aerospace business in 1993, which added a substantial space and electronics portfolio.
The 1995 Merger and a New Giant
As the Cold War ended, U.S. defense budgets contracted and the government encouraged consolidation among contractors. In 1994 Lockheed and Martin Marietta announced plans to combine, and the roughly $10 billion stock-for-stock merger was completed in March 1995, creating Lockheed Martin Corporation. The deal was engineered in large part by Martin Marietta chief executive Norman Augustine, who became a central figure in leading the newly combined company.
The merger produced the world's largest defense and aerospace company, with combined annual sales in the range of $23 billion and a workforce of roughly 170,000. Lockheed Martin quickly continued the consolidation trend, absorbing other defense businesses and settling into its headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. From its founding it held the position of the largest supplier to the U.S. Department of Defense, a status it has retained.
Flagship Programs and Leadership
Lockheed Martin's post-merger portfolio has been anchored by combat aviation. The F-16 Fighting Falcon, originally a General Dynamics design whose production Lockheed acquired, became one of the most widely exported fighters in history. The company developed the fifth-generation F-22 Raptor air-superiority fighter, and then the F-35 Lightning II, the Joint Strike Fighter that became the largest defense-acquisition program in U.S. history and the single largest revenue driver for the company.
Beyond aircraft, Lockheed Martin is a leading producer of missiles and missile-defense systems (including PAC-3, THAAD, HIMARS-launched munitions, and Javelin), of military and commercial satellites and space systems, and of the Sikorsky helicopter business, which it acquired in 2015. Leadership over the modern era has included Norman Augustine, Vance Coffman, Robert Stevens, and Marillyn Hewson, who served as CEO from 2013 and raised the company's public profile. Hewson was succeeded by James Taiclet, who became president and CEO in June 2020 and chairman in early 2021.
The Modern Era (2015-2025)
Over the past decade Lockheed Martin has reshaped its business through acquisitions and divestitures, buying Sikorsky Aircraft in 2015 and, after an attempted 2021 acquisition of rocket-engine maker Aerojet Rocketdyne was blocked by U.S. regulators, continuing to invest heavily in hypersonics, missile defense, and space.
The company organizes its operations into four segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space. Demand rose sharply amid renewed global tensions, including support for Ukraine that drove orders for HIMARS, Javelin, and PAC-3 systems. For full-year 2024 the company reported net sales of about $71.0 billion, up from $67.6 billion in 2023, with a record year-end backlog of roughly $176 billion. Entering 2025, Lockheed Martin remained the largest U.S. defense contractor, with the F-35 and its expanding missile and space businesses at the center of its strategy.