Lockheed Martin Corporation
Aerospace & DefenseFounded 1995- Updated June 2026
Reviewed by Swet Parvadiya
Last reviewed: June 2026
CorpDigest
Lockheed Martin Corporation
Company History
Founded 1995 in Bethesda, Maryland
Last reviewed: 2026-06-03 · By Swet Parvadiya
Before the first American astronaut reached orbit, before the Stealth bomber reshaped air warfare, and before the phrase 'defense industrial base' entered the American political lexicon, a pair of brothers built aircraft in a rented garage in Santa Barbara, California, and another set of engineers assembled flying boats at a plant in Middle River, Maryland. Those humble origins eventually gave rise to Lockheed Martin Corporation — a company so embedded in the sinews of American national security that the U.S. Government has, on more than one occasion, effectively guaranteed its survival because the alternative was simply unacceptable. More than 1,000 F-35s are already flying across seventeen nations, and production is expected to continue well into the 2040s, generating a sustainment revenue tail that analysts estimate will dwarf the original production contract many times over. As the generation that built the F-22 and the original GPS constellation approaches retirement, Lockheed Martin faces a knowledge transfer problem that no human resources policy can fully solve.
The company's hypersonics portfolio, which includes the LRHW Long Range Hypersonic Weapon for the Army and classified air-launched hypersonic programs, is in active development and is expected to reach production milestones in the late 2020s, creating a new revenue stream in the Missiles and Fire Control segment. The story of Lockheed Martin begins not in a boardroom or an investment bank but in a rented garage in Santa Barbara, California, in 1912, where brothers Allan and Malcolm Loughead — who would later Anglicize their surname to Lockheed — built their first seaplane from scratch using hand tools and raw intuition. The parallel story of Martin Marietta begins with Glenn L. Martin, an Ohio-born aviation pioneer who built his first aircraft in 1909 and incorporated the Glenn L. Martin Company in 1912 — the same year the Loughead brothers built their garage seaplane. That combination proved strategically wise as the Space Race began generating enormous government demand for launch vehicles and space systems: Martin Marietta built the Titan missile family, which served as both an intercontinental ballistic missile and the primary launch vehicle for NASA's Gemini program, carrying the astronauts who developed the spacewalk and orbital rendezvous techniques that made the Moon landings possible.
Norman Augustine was the chief architect of the 1995 merger between Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta that created Lockheed Martin Corporation, serving as the combined company's first Chairman and CEO. Born in 1935 in Denver, Colorado, Augustine earned a bachelor's and master's degree in aerospace engineering from Princeton University before joining the Douglas Aircraft Company and subsequently the Department of Defense as a civilian official. His tenure at Martin Marietta, which began in 1977, transformed the company from a struggling aerospace and construction materials conglomerate into a focused defense and space systems integrator. Augustine's primary strategic insight — that the post-Cold War defense budget environment would require dramatic consolidation among American defense contractors — proved prescient and directly motivated the Lockheed-Martin Marietta merger. After retiring from Lockheed Martin's chairmanship in 1997, he served on numerous corporate boards and government advisory committees, including chairing the Review of U.S. Human Spaceflight Plans Committee in 2009.
Daniel Tellep was Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Corporation at the time of its merger with Martin Marietta in 1995, making him one of the two principal architects of what became the world's largest defense contractor. He joined Lockheed in 1960 as an engineer working on the Polaris submarine-launched ballistic missile program — one of the Cold War's most consequential defense programs — and rose through the company's technical and management ranks over three decades. As CEO from 1989 to 1995, Tellep navigated Lockheed through the post-Cold War defense budget collapse, executing significant workforce reductions, consolidating facilities, and maintaining the F-22 Raptor development program as the company's primary long-term strategic asset. His partnership with Norman Augustine in negotiating and structuring the Lockheed-Martin Marietta merger was instrumental in persuading the Clinton administration to approve the transaction despite antitrust concerns. Tellep stepped back from executive leadership shortly after the merger closed, with Augustine assuming primary leadership of the combined company.
Allan and Malcolm Loughead complete their first seaplane, the Model G, in a rented Santa Barbara garage, charging $10 per passenger for brief flights over San Francisco Bay and launching what would eventually become Lockheed Corporation.
Lockheed establishes the Advanced Development Projects division — universally known as the Skunk Works — under the leadership of Clarence 'Kelly' Johnson, producing the P-80 Shooting Star jet fighter in just 143 days and launching a legacy of classified breakthrough aircraft development.
The Lockheed U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft completes its first flight, entering CIA service the following year and providing critical intelligence on Soviet military capabilities throughout the Cold War — as well as sparking an international incident when Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the USSR in 1960.
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird strategic reconnaissance aircraft achieves first flight, eventually setting an absolute speed record of 2,193 mph for a manned air-breathing aircraft — a record that stands to this day — while providing strategic reconnaissance capabilities that no adversary could intercept.
Lockheed's F-117 Nighthawk stealth attack aircraft makes its combat debut in Operation Desert Storm, striking hardened Iraqi targets with precision-guided munitions and demonstrating to the world that stealth technology had fundamentally altered the calculus of air warfare.
Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta complete their $10 billion merger on March 15, 1995, creating Lockheed Martin Corporation with combined revenues of approximately $23 billion, approximately 170,000 employees, and a portfolio spanning fighter aircraft, missiles, satellites, and space systems.
Lockheed Martin wins the Joint Strike Fighter competition against Boeing, securing the System Development and Demonstration contract for what would become the F-35 Lightning II — a program that has since grown into the most expensive weapons system in history with an estimated $1.76 trillion lifecycle cost.
Lockheed Martin's first GPS IIR-M modernized satellite is launched, beginning the upgrade of the GPS constellation with military signals on a second frequency and laying the groundwork for the GPS III program that would follow.
Lockheed Martin completes the acquisition of Sikorsky Aircraft from United Technologies Corporation for approximately $9 billion, adding the UH-60 Black Hawk, CH-53K King Stallion, and S-92 commercial helicopter programs and substantially expanding the company's rotary wing and mission systems capabilities.
The F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variant achieves Initial Operating Capability with the U.S. Air Force, marking the culmination of 15 years of development and the beginning of a production and sustainment cycle expected to generate revenues for the company through the 2070s.
The M142 HIMARS High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, produced by Lockheed Martin, is supplied to Ukrainian forces and achieves immediate strategic impact, destroying Russian ammunition depots, command posts, and logistics nodes at ranges previously unavailable to Ukrainian ground forces, triggering a surge in global demand for Lockheed Martin missile systems.
Lockheed Martin reports fiscal year 2024 net sales of $71.0 billion, a 5.3 percent increase from 2023, driven by growth across all four segments and reflecting unprecedented global demand for the company's defense systems in an environment shaped by the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and accelerating Chinese military modernization.
Lockheed Martin acquired Sikorsky Aircraft from United Technologies Corporation in November 2015 for approximately $9 billion to add a market-leading rotary wing capability to its portfolio, filling a gap that had limited the company's participation in Army aviation programs. Sikorsky's position as the sole producer of the UH-60 Black Hawk and the prime contractor for the CH-53K King Stallion heavy-lift helicopter provided immediate revenue and a multi-decade sustainment franchise. The acquisition also brought Sikorsky's S-92 commercial offshore transport helicopter, providing a foothold in the civilian helicopter market that offered some diversification from pure defense revenues.
Lockheed Martin announced in December 2020 a $4.4 billion agreement to acquire Aerojet Rocketdyne, the primary U.S. Manufacturer of solid rocket motors and liquid propulsion systems used in virtually all of Lockheed Martin's missile and space programs. The strategic rationale was straightforward: Aerojet Rocketdyne supplied propulsion systems to both Lockheed Martin and its competitors, and ownership would provide supply chain security, reduce propulsion costs, and capture the margins currently flowing to an independent supplier. The acquisition also reflected concerns about the health and capacity of the U.S. Solid rocket motor industrial base, which supplies propellant for weapons systems ranging from Minuteman ICBMs to Javelin missiles.
Lockheed Martin completed the acquisition of Terran Orbital Corporation in 2024 for approximately $450 million, adding a small satellite manufacturing capability that addresses growing DoD and intelligence community demand for proliferated low-Earth orbit satellite architectures. The Space Force and NRO have been shifting from a small number of large, expensive satellites toward large constellations of smaller, cheaper satellites that are more resilient to adversary anti-satellite attacks — a trend that required Lockheed Martin to develop high-volume satellite manufacturing capability that its existing Space segment lacked. Terran Orbital, based in Irvine, California, had developed streamlined manufacturing processes capable of producing small satellites at significantly higher rates than traditional defense satellite manufacturing approaches.
In a complex reverse merger transaction in 2016, Lockheed Martin transferred its Information Systems and Global Solutions business — which provided IT services, healthcare IT, and intelligence analysis to government customers — to Leidos Holdings (formerly SAIC) in a deal valued at approximately $4.6 billion. Rather than a conventional acquisition, this was a Reverse Morris Trust transaction in which Lockheed Martin shareholders received Leidos stock and the combined entity operated under the Leidos name. The transaction allowed Lockheed Martin to exit a business that management viewed as lower-margin and strategically peripheral to the company's core focus on advanced defense systems and technologies.
Lockheed Martin Corporation was formed March 1995 through merger of Lockheed Corporation (founded 1912 by Allan and Malcolm Lockheed) and Martin Marietta Corporation (founded 1961 through merger of Glenn L. Martin Company and American-Marietta Corporation) creating substantial American defense and aerospace operations that became largest US defense contractor with approximately $71 billion annual revenue. The 1995 merger context: substantial 1990s post-Cold War US defense industry consolidation supporting various continued operations, comprehensive substantial Lockheed substantial aircraft and aerospace operations including F-16 fighter, P-3 maritime patrol, C-130 Hercules transport, and various other programs, comprehensive substantial Martin Marietta substantial missile, space, and electronic systems operations, comprehensive substantial expected substantial cost synergies through combined operations supporting various continued financial considerations. The 1995 merger structure: substantial $10 billion all-stock transaction creating Lockheed Martin Corporation as substantial US defense contractor. The post-merger expansion: comprehensive substantial 1996 substantial Loral Corporation defense electronics acquisition for approximately $9.1 billion adding substantial defense electronics operations, comprehensive substantial subsequent operational restructuring across multiple decades. The major programs across decades: substantial F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program (substantial program supporting substantial Lockheed Martin revenue across multiple decades and substantial F-35 partner countries including UK, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Turkey though Turkey subsequently removed from program 2019, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, South Korea, and various other countries), comprehensive substantial F-22 Raptor stealth fighter program, comprehensive substantial C-130 Hercules and C-130J Super Hercules transport programs, comprehensive substantial various continued aircraft, missile, and space programs. The continued operations generate approximately $71 billion annual revenue supporting various continued considerations as substantial largest US defense contractor.
Lockheed Martin Corporation's F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program represents substantial Lockheed Martin program supporting substantial revenue across multiple decades through approximately $1.7 trillion expected lifetime program costs supporting substantial F-35 production and sustainment operations. The F-35 program context: substantial 2001 substantial Lockheed Martin selection as F-35 prime contractor following substantial Joint Strike Fighter program competition winning over Boeing X-32 design, comprehensive substantial F-35 design and development supporting various continued considerations across three F-35 variants (F-35A conventional takeoff and landing for US Air Force and various international partners, F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing for US Marine Corps and UK Royal Navy and Italian Navy, F-35C carrier-based variant for US Navy), comprehensive substantial F-35 partner countries including UK, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Turkey (subsequently removed 2019), Australia, Canada (though with various continued considerations), Israel, Japan, South Korea, and various other Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers including substantial Singapore, Switzerland, Finland, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Greece, and various other countries. The F-35 production: substantial F-35 production at Lockheed Martin Fort Worth Texas facility supporting substantial production rates ramping toward approximately 156 aircraft annually peak production rate, comprehensive substantial F-35 sustainment operations supporting various continued considerations. The continued F-35 strategic considerations: comprehensive substantial F-35 continued production through 2040s+ supporting substantial Lockheed Martin revenue, comprehensive substantial F-35 sustainment operations representing substantial continued revenue across multiple decades. The F-35 program supports continued institutional positioning.
Lockheed Martin Corporation has substantially positioned for hypersonic and space programs supporting various continued considerations across substantial substantial defense and space operations. The hypersonic programs: substantial Lockheed Martin Common Hypersonic Glide Body (C-HGB) supporting various US Army Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and various US Navy Conventional Prompt Strike programs, comprehensive substantial various other hypersonic programs, comprehensive substantial various continued considerations. The space programs: substantial Lockheed Martin Space segment generating approximately $13 billion annual revenue supporting various continued considerations including substantial Orion spacecraft for NASA Artemis lunar program supporting various continued considerations including 2025+ planned Artemis missions, comprehensive substantial Trident II D5 submarine-launched ballistic missile production supporting US and UK strategic nuclear deterrence, comprehensive substantial Global Positioning System (GPS) III satellite production supporting various continued considerations, comprehensive substantial Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) and Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) satellites, comprehensive substantial various other space programs. The strategic positioning: comprehensive substantial substantial established defense industry expertise supporting various continued considerations, comprehensive substantial substantial established US Department of Defense and various other government customer relationships, comprehensive substantial substantial established space industry expertise supporting various continued considerations, comprehensive substantial various other strategic considerations. The continued hypersonic and space programs support continued institutional positioning beyond pure aircraft focus; the comprehensive established programs provide foundation for continued operations across various external dynamics affecting global defense industry.
Lockheed Martin Corporation has navigated substantial 2024 supply chain challenges affecting various continued considerations across defense industry following 2020-2022 COVID-19 pandemic supply chain disruption and various continued considerations affecting various continued operations. The 2024 supply chain challenges: substantial various continued supply chain considerations affecting various continued production particularly substantial F-35 production considerations with substantial F-35 deliveries delayed through 2024 reflecting substantial Technology Refresh 3 (TR-3) hardware and software upgrade challenges affecting various continued considerations, comprehensive substantial various continued aerospace supply chain considerations affecting various continued operations, comprehensive substantial various continued considerations. The Lockheed Martin operational responses: comprehensive substantial operational discipline supporting various continued operations through challenging period, comprehensive substantial various continued considerations supporting various continued operations including substantial 2024 F-35 TR-3 capable aircraft deliveries resumed July 2024 following various continued considerations, comprehensive substantial various other operational responses. The continued strategic execution: comprehensive substantial established defense operations supporting various continued considerations, comprehensive substantial established F-35 production at Fort Worth Texas facility supporting various continued considerations, comprehensive substantial various continued strategic considerations. The continued strategic execution requires sustained operational excellence supporting various continued operations through supply chain dynamics; the comprehensive established defense industry capabilities and substantial established US Department of Defense relationships support continued institutional positioning despite various near-term operational considerations affecting defense industry. The continued strategic execution supports continued operations.