Lockheed Martin is one of the largest global aerospace, defense, security, and advanced technologies companies from America, which was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in 1995. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, United States and employs more than 100k people across the globe. The company is also a contractor for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Inception
Lockheed Martin came into existence in March 1994 when the companies Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta announced their merger for $10 billion. The segments which were not retained by the new company spun off two companies; the defense contractor company L-3 Communications and materials company Martin Marietta Materials.
The newly formed company started manufacturing several important products such as P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, F-117 Nighthawk, F-22 Raptor, A-4AR Fightinghawk, Trident missile, Titan rockets, Viking 2 landers, and many more. In 1996, Lockheed Martin acquired Loral Corporation for $9.1 billion. Along with military products, the company developed the texture mapping chip, graphics system for the Sega Model 3, and others.
In 2001, the company sold Lockheed Martin Control Systems and Aerospace Electronic Systems to BAE Systems. The following year, Lockheed Martin got an order to build 3,000 F-35 Lightning II aircraft. In 2001, the company paid $7.1 million to the United States government for submitting false lease costs claims to NASA.
In 2006, the company received a $3.9 billion contract to build the CEV capsule, which was later renamed as Orion. In 2008, Lockheed Martin acquired the government business unit of Nantero, Inc, and Unitech.
Evolution
Lockheed Martin closed it’s Eagan, Minnesota branch to reduce costs and optimize capacity. In 2011, the company bought the first Quantum Computing System from D-Wave Systems. The following year, it reduced its workforce by 740 workers to remain competitive in the upcoming years. The following year, it provided six C-130J aircraft to the Indian Air Force.
In 2013, the company acquired the engine maintenance assets from Aveos Fleet Performance in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It also partnered with Bell Helicopter for the Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program. It also bought the Scotland-based tech firm, Amor Group, to expand its operations into non-defense markets. At the same time, Lockheed Martin acquired several other companies, including Beontra AG, Industrial Defender Inc, and Sikorsky Aircraft from United Technologies Corporation.
In 2016, the company partnered with the Canadian Forces Maritime to test the first use of the combat system with the MK 48 heavyweight torpedo. In 2018, it signed a $480 million contract with the United States Air Force to develop a hypersonic weapon prototype. It also created the McCandless Lunar Lander, which was named after former Lockheed Martin employee Bruce McCandless II.
In 2019, the company signed a $4.6–billion contract to build six or more Orion capsules for NASA’s Artemis program. It also signed a contract with Naval Sea Systems Command for a project related to AEGIS Combat System Engineering Agent. In 2020, the company found 800 software defects in Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jets of the US Army. It also acquired the satellite technology assets of Vector company.
Awards & Achievements
Lockheed Martin has won several awards and recognition, including the Collier Trophy six times for developing the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System, developing the F-35 Lightning II, and others. The company was included in the list of Top 100 US Federal Contractors.
The company also awards “The Lockheed Martin Fincastle Maintenance Trophy” in a competition that involves several maintenance teams in the competitive spirit of Fincastle. It also gives the Sikorsky Customer Awards to their commercial and military customers.
Net Worth of Lockheed Martin in 2024
As of November 2024, Lockheed Martin has an estimated net worth of more than $50 billion. The company receives 78 percent of the revenue from military sales, 10% of the income from the Pentagon.
In 2009, the company received $38.4 billion from the government contracts, $5.8 billion from the foreign government contracts, and $900 million from commercial and other agreements. Lockheed Martin’s half of the annual sales are to the U.S. Department of Defense, and it also ranked first in the list of US federal government contractors.
In the 2019 fiscal year, the company earned more than $6.230 billion with annual revenue of $60 billion, which increased 11 percent from the previous year. The company’s cost per share was $390, and its market capitalization was valued at US$109.83 billion. Lockheed Martin is ranked number sixty in the 2019 Fortune 500 ranking of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.
Lockheed Martin is the largest defense contractor in the world. Apart from military products, the company also invests in healthcare systems, renewable energy systems, intelligent energy distribution, and compact nuclear fusion.