Lockheed Martin

[5] In 2013, 78% of Lockheed Martin's revenues came from military sales;[6] it topped the list of US federal government contractors and received nearly 10% of the funds paid out by the Pentagon.[9] Lockheed Martin operates in four business segments: Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control (MFC), Rotary and Mission Systems (RMS), and Space.[citation needed] Lockheed products included the Trident missile, P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance airplanes, F-117 Nighthawk, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F-22 Raptor, C-130 Hercules, A-4AR Fightinghawk and the DSCS-3 satellite.[citation needed] On April 22, 1996, Lockheed Martin completed the acquisition of Loral Corporation's defense electronics and system integration businesses for $9.1 billion, the deal having been announced in January.[22] Lockheed Martin abandoned plans for an $8.3 billion merger with Northrop Grumman on July 16, 1998, due to government concerns over the potential strength of the new group; Lockheed/Northrop would have had control of 25% of the Department of Defense's procurement budget.In 2001, Lockheed Martin settled a nine–year investigation conducted by NASA's Office of Inspector General with the assistance of the Defense Contract Audit Agency.The company paid the United States government $7.1 million based on allegations that its predecessor, Lockheed Engineering Science Corporation, submitted false lease costs claims to NASA.[33] On August 31, 2006, Lockheed Martin won a $3.9 billion contract from NASA to design and build the CEV capsule, later named Orion for the Ares I rocket in the Constellation Program.[34] In August 2007, Lockheed Martin acquired 3Dsolve, a Cary, North Carolina, company that created simulations and training modules for the military and corporate clients.[37] On August 13, 2008, Lockheed Martin acquired the government business unit of Nantero, Inc., a company that had developed methods and processes for incorporating carbon nanotubes in next-generation electronic devices.[44] It is unclear if the Lockheed incident is the specific prompt whereby on June 1, 2011, the new United States military strategy, makes explicit that a cyberattack is casus belli for a traditional act of war.On July 3, 2013, Lockheed Martin announced that it was partnering with DreamHammer to use the company's software for integrated command and control of its unmanned aerial vehicles.[49] In September 2013, Lockheed Martin acquired the Scotland-based tech firm, Amor Group, saying the deal would aid its plans to expand internationally and into non-defense markets.[64] The same month, a deal to merge Leidos with the entirety of Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Solutions (IS&GS) business came to a close.[87][88] In 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, major arms manufacturers, including Lockheed Martin,[89] reported a sharp increase in interim sales and profits.[99] On October 9, 2024, Lockheed Martin announced the appointment of Chauncey McIntosh as vice president and general manager of the F-35 Lightning II Program, effective December 1, 2024.[100] In December 2024, Lockheed Martin announced that it had formed a subsidiary, Astris AI, that would help U.S. defense companies to incorporate artificial intelligence into their operations.[130] In October 2013, Lockheed announced it expected to finalize a $2.2 billion contract with the United States Air Force for two advanced military communications satellites.[134] On March 3, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said that Lockheed Martin had agreed to settle allegations that the defense contractor had sold overpriced perishable tools used on many contracts.The DOJ said the allegations were based specifically on the subsidiary Tools & Metals Inc's inflation of costs between 1998 and 2005, which Lockheed Martin then passed on to the U.S. government under its contracts.[136] On December 20, 2014, Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems agreed to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit paying $27.5 million to finalize allegations that it had knowingly overbilled taxpayers for work performed by company staff who did not hold the relevant essential qualifications for the contract.[148] According to the magazine Politico, Lockheed Martin has "a political network that is already the envy of its competitors", and its contracts enjoy wide bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress thanks to it having "perfected the strategy of spreading jobs on weapons programs in key states and congressional districts".[150][151] Through its political action committee (PAC), the company provides low levels of financial support to candidates who advocate national defense and relevant business issues.[152] It was the largest contributor to the House Armed Services Committee chairman, Republican Buck McKeon of California with over $50,000 donated in the election cycle as of January 2011.By separating tasks based on parts, Lockheed Martin utilizes the division of labor theory,[164] specialization on a specific area creates efficiency.