Originally founded as Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company in 1912, Lockheed Corporation is a US aerospace and aeronautics company which now goes by the name of Lockheed Martin after its merger with Martin Marietta Company in 1995.

In 1912, the brothers Allan and Malcolm Loughead joined forces to form the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company—which they later renamed to Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company—in Santa Barbara, California. In 1926, with Loughead Company listing, Allan decided to rename the company as Lockheed Aircraft Company.

After the Great Depression, the company underwent a series of changes foremost of which is the change in its overall ownership. Robert E. Gross became the company’s new chairman and it was again renamed as the Lockheed Corporation.

Lockheed was one of the major companies that pushed for the development of aeronautics in the United States. It has built several aeroplanes used by some of the most influential pilots in history like Amelia Earhart and Wiley Post. During the Second World War, Lockheed continued to push for innovation as it made aircrafts like the twin-engine P-38 Lightning fighter plane, the Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior and the Lockheed 14 Super Electra.

In 1995, another major change happened to the company when it merged with Martin Marietta Company in 1995. By this time, the company has collaborated with other big names in the industry such as General Dynamics and Boeing in developing advanced aircraft technology being used not only by the United States but other developed nations as well.

Today, Lockheed Martin is based in Bethesda, MD and currently employs approximately 140,000 people in its offices worldwide. It is currently headed by Robert J. Stevens who functions as the company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. It focuses on global security and information technology and works hand in hand with the US Department of Defense and other U.S. federal government agencies to provide systems, information technology, and training services.