All articles tagged with #lockheed martin
Lockheed Martin broke ground on Building 47, an 87,000-square-foot plant in Troy, Alabama, to quadruple THAAD interceptor production and lay groundwork for future programs; the company plans $8–9 billion in munition-facility investments through 2030 and about 4,500 new jobs, backed by Pentagon multiyear production deals that require final congressional funding.
Peru has finalized a contract to purchase 12 F-16 Block 70 fighters from Lockheed Martin under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program, in a deal valued at about $3.42 billion. The signing followed days of uncertainty and tensions with Washington, and the package includes weapons, radar systems, and logistics support, with delivery slated to begin in 2029 and the possibility of a second squadron, as Peru contemplates replacing its Mirage 2000 fleet.
Saildrone unveiled Spectre, a 170-foot aluminum unmanned surface vessel engineered for anti-submarine warfare, long-range surveillance and missile launches, with a 3,280 nautical mile range at 25 knots and payload capacity up to about 70 metric tons across 20- or 40-foot containers; built by Fincantieri in Wisconsin (plus an optional 140-foot wing by American Magic), sea trials planned for early 2027, 100% NAVY-compliant per Saildrone, and compatible with Lockheed Martin and Thales systems, with internal funding and plans for Europe due to closer submarine threats.
Rebekah Tolatovicz is a mechanical technician lead with ASRC Federal supporting Lockheed Martin on NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Based in NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Operations and Checkout Building, she helps build, integrate and test Orion hardware for Artemis II and future Artemis missions, coordinating technicians and performing hands-on installations from the bare structure to small components. A nine-year Orion veteran who started as an intern, Tolatovicz has contributed to both Artemis I and Artemis II efforts and emphasizes that every part matters to the mission’s success and to NASA’s history.
The Mars Climate Orbiter (MCO) was lost in 1999 because Lockheed Martin software used Imperial units while NASA expected metric, producing a trajectory error that likely caused the $125 million orbiter to burn up near Mars (the Polar Lander, part of Mars Surveyor ’98, was doomed by the same unit-conversion slip). Postmortems blamed rushed processes and inadequate verification of unit conversions rather than a single contractor fault.
Bloomberg News, citing a soon-to-be-released Pentagon testing-office assessment, reports that the F-35 TR-3 software upgrades stalled in testing last year, delaying new combat capabilities and raising cybersecurity concerns due to limited vulnerability testing.
The U.S. strike on Iran has boosted defense stocks, lifting a defense-focused ETF and sending Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman higher as investors anticipate increased military spending and heightened geopolitical tensions; the rally extends to other defense players and European contractors, though long-term exposure may hinge on shifts in defense programs and platforms.
Lockheed Martin unveiled Lamprey, a modular autonomous undersea vehicle that can hitch a ride on ships or submarines, recharge during missions, and launch drones, torpedoes, and decoys while carrying its own sensors. It can lie in wait on the seabed or operate near the surface, enabling covert surveillance, distributed sensing, and potential sea-denial capabilities. Questions remain about endurance, range, cost, and current development stage as the concept signals a broader move toward autonomous, distributed undersea warfare.
Lockheed Martin publicly confirmed that its secretive RQ-170 Sentinel stealth UAV helped a 2026 U.S. operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, signaling a rare public acknowledgment of the drone’s real-world use. The Sentinel’s passive sensors and high-altitude persistence provided real-time intelligence to support the mission, illustrating a shift from a strategic ISR asset to a tactical enabler in modern warfare.
Lockheed Martin publicly confirmed that its RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drone participated in the January 3, 2023 operation targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, flying alongside F-35 and F-22 jets and Sikorsky Black Hawks during Operation Absolute Resolve; the drone’s capabilities remain classified. This marks one of the rare public acknowledgments of the RQ-170’s real-world deployment, with Creech AFB units historically involved and prior links to surveillance roles in Iran and the bin Laden raid.
Lockheed Martin has publicly confirmed that its RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drones participated in the January 3, 2026 operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro (Operation Absolute Resolve), alongside F-35s, F-22s, and other assets. The exact role of the drones remains undisclosed, but analysts say Sentinels could have provided persistent overhead surveillance and real-time intelligence for planning and post-strike assessments, underscoring the drone’s potential in high-stakes operations.
Saildrone will fit its 20-meter Surveyor unmanned surface vessel with Lockheed Martin's Joint Air-to-Ground Missile launcher, signaling a push to arm naval drones while keeping a human in the loop; larger USVs may also host containerized missiles, with AI integration and a live-fire demo planned for next summer, as navies seek layered, deterrence-capable unmanned fleets, though theater differences complicate replication across conflicts.
GE Aerospace and Lockheed Martin demonstrated a liquid-fueled rotating detonation ramjet in tests, showing potential for faster, farther missiles with lower production costs. The compact ramjet combines GE’s rotating detonation combustor with Lockheed Martin’s high-speed inlet, and tests at GE’s Niskayuna center validated ignition and cruise operation. The companies plan further maturation of the propulsion system in 2026.
Truist analysts consider Lockheed Martin to be attractively valued at the start of the year, suggesting it may be a good investment opportunity in the defense sector.
The Department of War has signed a seven-year agreement with Lockheed Martin to significantly increase PAC-3 MSE missile production from 600 to 2,000 annually, aiming to stabilize demand, boost industrial capacity, and enhance national security through a new acquisition model that encourages long-term investment and supply chain efficiency.