Lockheed Martin
History
Inflection points
Lockheed Martin was founded in 1912 (Bethesda, Maryland, United States). Every turn Acquired identified: founding, leadership changes, strategic pivots, crises, cultural moments.
Events and financial outcomes
The Lockheed brothers and Glenn Martin establish separate aircraft companies that will eventually combine.
Event source: Acquired: Lockheed Martin (May 2023)
Comparable annual periods immediately before and after this event are not on file; a financial outcome has not been established here.
Case question. Which revenue, cost, or capital decision could explain the outcome, and what evidence would separate its effect from changes in the market?
The story
The modern company combines two aviation lineages: the Lockheed brothers' aircraft business and Glenn Martin's aircraft company. Their 1995 merger created Lockheed Martin, while the Skunk Works operating model preserved a small-team path for unusually hard programs.
Inflection points · grouped by decade
1910s
- 1912Founding
Two aviation lineages begin
The Lockheed brothers and Glenn Martin establish separate aircraft companies that will eventually combine.
[Acquired: Lockheed Martin (May 2023)]
- The episode traces both predecessor histories before the 1995 merger.[Acquired: Lockheed Martin (May 2023)]
1940s
- 1943Strategic shift
Skunk Works operating model emerges
Kelly Johnson leads a small, autonomous team to deliver the XP-80 jet on an accelerated schedule.
[Acquired: Lockheed Martin (May 2023)]
- Acquired presents Skunk Works as a repeatable model for speed, secrecy, and concentrated engineering authority.[Acquired: Lockheed Martin (May 2023)]
1990s
- 1995Acquired co.
Lockheed and Martin Marietta merge
The combination creates today's prime contractor across aircraft, missiles, space, and mission systems.
[Acquired: Lockheed Martin (May 2023)]
- The merger consolidated complementary programs during the post-Cold War defense-industry contraction.[Acquired: Lockheed Martin (May 2023)]
2000s
- 2001Product
Joint Strike Fighter contract awarded
The F-35 becomes a platform program spanning development, production, sustainment, allies, and suppliers.
[Acquired: Lockheed Martin (May 2023)]
- The episode frames the contract as a winner-take-most platform decision with decades of follow-on economics.[Acquired: Lockheed Martin (May 2023)]