Lockheed Corporation

The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer founded in 1926. It ceased to exist as an independent company in 1995, when it merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin, which carries on the business today. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but otherwise unrelated Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company, which operated from 1912 to 1920, so the two firms should not be confused. Lockheed is part of the lineage of the modern American aerospace and defence industry, and through its merger with Martin Marietta it is an ancestor of the prime contractor that today builds spacecraft, launch services and missile systems. This entry covers the 1926 to 1995 company only; the later corporation and the earlier Loughead firm are separate subjects.