Aeronautics - Magazooms

T h r e e c o m p a n i e s B e c a m e O n e
a e r o t u r n s
FFor some people it may be hard to believe and for
others it may seem longer, but it has already been 10
years since three separate companies came together as
one. In January 2000, the military aircraft operations in
Marietta, Palmdale and Fort Worth were consolidated
to become Lockheed Martin
Aeronautics Company.
To commemorate the company’s
10-year anniversary, Aeronautics
President Ralph Heath kicked off his
new employee column “My Take on It!”
to share his thoughts on what it
means to work as
one company.
In his first column, Heath said
the transition was not easy . . .
for anyone. “There were tough
business challenges and cultural
differences. Where you work
is like being part of a family,”
he said. “Our goal was to keep
those family ties and preserve
the uniqueness of each site
while at the same time achieving
commonality in the things that
would make us more competitive. We
needed everyone working together to
execute our programs, capture new
business and deliver value to our
customers and shareholders.
“The Aeronautics successes over the
past 10 years are proof points that we are
getting it right,” Heath said.
He talked about our incredible fighters
— the F-35, F-22 and F-16 — and our
air mobility products. For example, the
C-130J program was near extinction, but
today enjoys an almost unlimited future.
The C-5M, with its new engines and
cockpit, is poised to become the strategic
foundation of the U.S. Air Force for
decades to come.
Heath said, “We kept Skunk Works®
at the forefront of aerospace technology
and grew our Global Sustainment business
as we welcomed Greenville and Kelly
Aviation Center back into the Aero family.
“There is no question Aeronautics is
better today than it was 10 years ago,”
Heath added. “Every program has tough
challenges, but we are stronger because
we figured out how to harness the talent
that was resident in three separate
companies to help solve problems and
enhance our competitiveness.”
Together, our more than 28,000
employees are one company, one team. ★
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