The Aeronautics Division of Lockheed Martin includes the "Skunk Works" (or Advanced Development Programs) which is responsible for some of the most advanced aircraft ever, in part because it works outside the regular bureaucracy of large corporations.
A proposed merger between Lockheed Martin and [[Aerojet Rocketdyne]] appears to be was blocked from occurring by the [[FTC]]; prior to the decision, in response the company argues it should be given the same merger conditions that competitor [[Northrop Grumman]] was given upon its purchase of Orbital ATK (which was Aerojet's primary competitor in the solid rocket booster business).<ref> https://spacenews.com/federal-trade-commission-likely-to-block-lockheed-martins-acquisition-of-aerojet-rocketdyne/ </ref> Aerojet would later be purchased in 2022 by another major defense contractor, [[L3Harris Technologies]], subject again to FTC approval.
==Notable Skunkworks Aircraft==