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Lockheed Martin
Defense Contractor
World's Largest Defense Contractor; Military-Industrial Complex
Overview
Lockheed Martin is the world's largest defense contractor; receiving approximately $75 billion annually in U.S. government contracts; making the Pentagon its primary customer. Note: this entry is categorized under individuals but represents a corporation. Formed from the 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta; the company manufactures the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (the most expensive weapons program in history at $1.7 trillion lifetime cost); C-130 Hercules; Black Hawk helicopters (via Sikorsky); THAAD missile defense; Aegis Combat System; and nuclear weapons management through Sandia National Laboratories. Lockheed Martin epitomizes the military-industrial complex President Eisenhower warned about in 1961; spending over $12 million annually on lobbying and employing a revolving door of former Pentagon officials. The F-35 program alone has been plagued by $183 billion in cost overruns; years of delays; and persistent technical failures including oxygen system malfunctions; software defects; and structural cracks; yet the program continues expanding because production is strategically distributed across 45 states and 1,500+ suppliers; making it politically impossible to cancel. The company has paid billions in fraud settlements; including a $2 billion settlement over the Comanche helicopter program and hundreds of millions in False Claims Act violations.
Key Affiliations
Controversies & Concerns
F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: most expensive weapons program in history at $1.7 trillion lifetime cost; plagued by $183 billion in cost overruns; persistent oxygen system failures; software defects; structural cracks; helmet display problems; and maintenance issues that keep availability rates below 55%
Revolving door: regularly hires former Pentagon officials and members of congressional armed services committees; creating conflicts of interest in weapons procurement decisions
Spends over $12 million annually on lobbying; one of the top corporate lobbying spenders in Washington; directly influencing defense budgets
F-35 production deliberately distributed across 45 states and 1,500+ suppliers to make the program politically uncancellable regardless of performance
Paid $2 billion settlement related to the cancelled RAH-66 Comanche helicopter program
Multiple False Claims Act settlements totaling hundreds of millions for overcharging the government and defective products
Nuclear weapons management at Sandia and involvement in maintaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal raises ethical concerns about corporate profit from weapons of mass destruction
International arms sales to authoritarian regimes; including Saudi Arabia which used U.S. weapons in Yemen causing civilian casualties
Related Investigations (1)
Known Associates & Connections
Marillyn Hewson
Former CEO and Chairman (2013-2020)
James Taiclet
Current CEO (2020-present)
Sources & Documentation
3 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports
Personal Information
- Also Known As
- LMT, Lockheed, LockMart
Education
Key Timeline
1995
Lockheed Corporation merges with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin
2001
Won F-35 Joint Strike Fighter contract; defeating Boeing
2006
Took over management of Sandia National Laboratories
2015
Acquired Sikorsky Aircraft (Black Hawk helicopters) for $9 billion
2018
Annual revenue exceeded $53 billion; largest defense contractor globally
2023
F-35 fleet-wide availability rate remained below 55%; far below 80% target; while lifetime program cost approached $1.7 trillion