Lockheed Martin
Profile
Lockheed Martin is the world's largest military contractor. It makes Hellfire missiles that have been used in numerous drone killings in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen. Founded in 1926, Lockheed has been charged with bribery in Egypt, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and (West) Germany to win contracts for military fighter jets and transport planes in the 1960s and the 1970s. These payments included $3 million to the Japanese prime minister and $1.1 million to a Dutch prince. In 2007 Lockheed was ordered to repay the U.S. government $265 million plus interest for over-billing on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and in 2010 it was ordered to repay the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy for over-billing on the C-27J tactical aircraft.
Ballistic Missiles, Precision-guided munitions, Combat Systems, Electronic Warfare Systems, Armored fighting vehicles, Combat aircraft, Littoral combat ships, Satellites, Spacecraft
Violations
| TOP 5 OFFENSE GROUPS (GROUPS DEFINED) | PENALTY TOTAL | NUMBER OF RECORDS |
|---|---|---|
| government-contracting-related offenses | $133,901,437 | 15 |
| employment-related offenses | $78,383,979 | 44 |
| competition-related offenses | $15,000,000 | 3 |
| environment-related offenses | $5,577,709 | 18 |
| safety-related offenses | $1,301,759 | 16 |
(August 31, 2023)
Stories
The Defense Industry’s Ukraine Pundits
Last week, CNN brought on former U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta for his fourth recent appearance to talk, once again, about Russian President Vladimir Putin's deadly invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine conflict a boon for defense industry
The Russia-Ukraine conflict is a boon for American defense contractors, which are in line to profit from increased Western military spending to bolster Kyiv’s forces and adapt to instability in the region.
The Rise of the Killer Drones: How America Goes to War in Secret
One day in late November, an unmanned aerial vehicle lifted off from Shindand Air Base in western Afghanistan, heading 75 miles toward the border with Iran.
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- Deep Trouble: The murky world of the deep sea mining industry by Greenpeace (2020)
- Tax evasion and weapon production: Mailbox arms companies in the Netherlands by Martin Broek/Transnational Institute (TNI) (2016)
- Dirty Profits 2: Report on Companies and Financial Institutions Benefiting from Violations of Human Rights by Facing Finance (2013)
- Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex by William D. Hartung (2010)
- The Politics of Contracting by the Project On Government Oversight (2004)
- Patriots and Profiteers: On Economic Warfare, Embargo Busting, and State-Sponsored Crime by Tom Naylor (1999)
- American Arms Supermarket by Michael Klare (1984)
- The Iron Triangle: The Politics of Defense Contracting by Gordon Adams (1981)
- The Arms Bazaar by Anthony Sampson (1977)
Activism
Australian War Memorial seeks new funding from Lockheed Martin despite veterans’ criticism
Christopher Knaus | The Guardian | April 20, 2022
More than 300 Australians wrote to the memorial urging it not to renew its deal with Lockheed Martin, due to the company’s involvement in nuclear weapons and surging share price following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
UK: Lockheed Martin site in Ampthill is blocked by protesters
BBC | March 7, 2022
Anti-weapons group, Block Lockheed, prevented vehicles going in and out of the Lockheed Martin plant in Ampthill from about 05:30 GMT on Monday. It said it was targeting the company because it considered it to be "a pillar of the arms trade".
Global Treaty Needed to Halt Deep Sea Mining, Greenpeace Investigation Concludes
Carly Nairn | EcoWatch | December 9, 2020
The investigation, Deep Trouble: The murky world of the deep sea mining industry, decries the increasing use of the ocean floor by large corporations, such as U.S. arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin, to mine metals and minerals.
USA: American-Armenians protest outside Lockheed Martin military-industrial corporation
Marianna Karapetyan | Public Radio of Armenia | October 22, 2020
Protest outside Lockheed Martin plant in Dallas against U.S. parts/technology in the Turkish drones used by Azerbaijan to kill Armenian civilians in Artsakh, Armenian National Committee of America report.
USA: Defense Workers, Deemed “Essential,” Protest Conditions as Overseas Weapons Sales Continue
Akela Lacy | The Intercept | April 18, 2020
Thanks to industry lobbying, weapons manufacturing plants are open amid the coronavirus pandemic to fulfill billions of dollars in weapons sales.
USA: Protesters in Salina say Lockheed Martin has blood on its hands
Ellen Abbott | WRVO Public Media | August 31, 2018
Central New York anti-war protesters are taking aim at a defense contractor with offices in the town of Salina.
War Profiteer of the Month: Lockheed Martin
War Resisters International | June 21, 2018
Lockheed Martin is the world's biggest arms manufacturer, and world's biggest exporter of arms.
- American Friends Service Committee: Investigate
- Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
- Block Lockheed
- Blue Planet Society
- Campaign Against Arms Trade
- Center for Biological Diversity (CBD)
- Greenpeace
- International Association of Machinists
- OpenSecrets
- Project On Government Oversight
- SPEEA
- Syracuse Peace Council
- Transnational Institute (TNI)
- War Resisters’ International
& Lawsuits
Yemenis sue top US defence contractors for 'aiding war crimes'
Umar A Farooq | Middle East Eye | March 3, 2023
A group of Yemeni nationals has filed a lawsuit in the US against defence contractors Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics, accusing them of "aiding and abetting war crimes and extrajudicial killings" by supplying arms to the Saudi-led coalition's war in Yemen.
American Arms Makers Are Making a Killing off of Israel's Slaughter in Gaza
Jessica Buxbaum | Mint Press News | May 20, 2021
As diplomatic powers and regional players meet behind closed doors for ceasefire talks, Israel continues showering Gaza with missile fire. Israeli airstrikes have so far killed at least 230 Palestinians, including 65 children, and injured 1,710 others... Lockheed Martin’s most recent sale to Israel is estimated at more than $2 billion.
USA: Lockheed Martin under fire again from Congress over F-35, this time for missing spare parts
Kyle Arnold | The Dallas Morning News | June 23, 2020
A group of high-ranking members of Congress is launching an investigation into Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet program after being told the U.S. military had to spend $300 million in the last five years on defective and missing parts.
Why a U.S. Senator Is Calling for an Investigation Into the C-130
Kyle Mizokami | Popular Mechanic | January 24, 2020
A U.S. senator has called for an investigation into defense contractor Lockheed Martin after whistleblowers alleged employees were suffering health problems. The problems stem from the alleged misuse of an adhesion promoter used on the fuel tanks of C-130J Hercules transport planes.
U.S. sues Lockheed, others for alleged kickbacks on nuclear site cleanup
Lisa Lambert & Mike Stone | Reuters | February 8, 2019
The United States has sued Lockheed Martin Corp, Lockheed Martin Services Inc, and Mission Support Alliance LLC, as well as a Lockheed executive for alleged false claims and kickbacks on a multibillion-dollar contract to clean up a nuclear site, the Justice Department said on Friday.
USA: Lockheed Martin Agrees To Pay $2 Million To Settle Allegations That It Overbilled The Government
United States Department of Justice | March 27, 2015
Lockheed Martin Corporation (“Lockheed”) has agreed to pay $2 million to settle allegations that it over billed the government for fuel it used while manufacturing the C-130 aircraft for the United States Air Force.
USA: Lockheed to settle securities fraud suit for $19.5 million
Nate Raymond | Reuters | February 20, 2013
Lockheed Martin Corp has agreed to pay $19.5 million to settle a securities fraud class-action lawsuit accusing the company of misleading investors about the prospects for its information technology division, according to court papers.
USA: Lockheed Martin Corporation Reaches $15.85 Million Settlement with U.S. to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations
U.S. Department of Justice | March 23, 2012
Lockheed Martin Corporation has agreed to pay $15,850,000 to settle allegations that it mischarged perishable tools used on numerous government contracts, the Department of Justice announced today.
USA: Lockheed Martin to Pay $2 Million to Resolve Allegations Resulting from Fraudulent Submission of Government Contract
U.S. Department of Justice | January 24, 2011
The suit alleges that prior to the issuance, and once the NCCIPS solicitation had been publicized, that then government employees, Stephen Adamec and Robert Knesel, conspired with Lockheed Martin, Galloway, SAIC and AES to ensure that SAIC and its teaming partners were awarded the task order...
USA: Lockheed agrees to pay feds $10M for Marietta overcharges to Air Force and Navy
Rhonda Cook | The Atlanta-Journal Constitution | December 10, 2010
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta, Lockheed Martin’s aircraft manufacturing division in Marietta inflated the overhead rates that it used to price and bill government contracts performed for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy from 1996 until 2000.
USA: Lockheed Martin overcharged US government by $265m on F-35 Joint Strike Fighter development programme
Stephen Trimble | FlightGlobal | August 9, 2007
The company is now in the process of reimbursing the funds to the government, although it was not immediately clear if the funds will be returned to the JSF programme office for reinvestment or go elsewhere.
Environmental Impacts
The Board of Lockheed Martin Has Spoken: Climate Change May Proceed
Danaka Katovich & David Gibson | Jacobin | April 20, 2023
Lockheed Martin is the largest military contractor with the Department of Defense, the world’s largest institutional consumer of fossil fuels. Lockheed was recently asked point-blank if it will address its role in worsening climate change. Its answer: no.
Activists Condemn Deep-Sea Mining Effort by Defense Contractor Lockheed Martin
Brett Wilkins | Common Dreams | March 20, 2022
A leading conservation group on Friday sounded the alarm after military-industrial complex giant Lockheed Martin filed an application with the U.S. government to renew licenses allowing deep seabed mining exploration in the Pacific Ocean.
Lockheed Martin ‘mishandled toxins’, causing illness: US lawsuits
Al Jazeera | September 29, 2020
Two lawsuits filed on Monday alleged that US-based weapons company Lockheed Martin has mishandled toxins at a Florida facility for decades, causing life-threatening health issues in workers and nearby residents.
USA: In settlement with DWP, Lockheed will expand groundwater cleanup in San Fernando Basin
Alene Tchekmedyian | Los Angeles Times | December 14, 2018
Lockheed Martin has agreed to expand its cleanup efforts of contaminated groundwater in the San Fernando Basin as part of a settlement agreement reached with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
USA: EPA orders Lockheed Martin, Honeywell to clean contaminated Valley water
Brenda Gazzar | Daily News | June 20, 2018
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ordered two aerospace companies to complete more than $21 million in cleanup work at a Superfund site near Hollywood Burbank Airport, the agency announced Wednesday.
USA: Lockheed Martin Agrees to Pay $5 Million to Settle Alleged Violations of the False Claims Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
U.S. Department of Justice | February 29, 2016
The government’s lawsuit alleged that Lockheed Martin violated RCRA, the statute that establishes how hazardous wastes must be managed, by failing to identify and report hazardous waste produced and stored at the facility, and failing to properly handle and dispose of the waste.
USA: Lockheed Linked to Chromium 6 Pollution
Andrew Blankstein & Jean Guccione | Los Angeles Times | January 21, 2001
Searching for the source of contamination in local water supplies, officials say they have found evidence suggesting that Lockheed Martin Corp. discharged chromium 6-laced water directly into the San Fernando Valley aquifer.
USA: Lockheed Martin Settles $60 Million Mediation
Orlando Sentinel | August 4, 1996
Lockheed Martin Corp. has agreed to a more than $60 million settlement with 1,300 Burbank residents who claim their health was damaged by decades of aircraft manufacturing at the company’s B-1 plant.
& Relations
USA: Inside Lockheed Martin’s Sweeping Recruitment on College Campuses
Indigo Olivier | In These Times | August 11, 2022
UConn is among at least a dozen universities that participate in Lockheed Martin Day, part of a sweeping national effort to establish defense industry recruitment pipelines in college STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) programs.
Lockheed Martin Corp. Agrees to Pay $700,000 to Resolve Alleged Hiring Discrimination Following U.S. Department of Labor Investigation
United States Department of Labor | January 11, 2021
The U.S. Department of Labor and Lockheed Martin Corp.’s RMS Engineering & Technology Unit have entered into an Early Resolution Conciliation Agreement to resolve allegations of hiring discrimination found by the Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).
USA: Senator calls for investigation after whistleblowers raise concerns about C-130 production practices
Valerie Insinna | Defense News | January 23, 2020
Until recently, Lockheed Martin employees manufacturing the C-130J may have been exposed to harmful chemicals, and the Defense Department may have ignored worker concerns, a U.S. senator said Thursday.
USA: Lockheed Settlement
Aviation Week | January 7, 2008
The U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) unveiled a self-described “major” settlement of a race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against Lockheed Martin Corp. for $2.5 million and other relief on behalf of an African-American electrician...
Financials
Sixty-eight banks fuelling cluster munition producers with billions of dollars
Bank Track | March 1, 2007
Today Netwerk Vlaanderen launches its new briefing paper ‘Explosive Investments’ revealing the results of its research into the financing of six cluster munition producers like Lockheed Martin, Thales and Raytheon.
Click here for the latest list.
Political Influence
Open Secrets - Tracks corporate lobbying of US politicians.
OpenSecrets.org Profile of Lockheed Martin
USA: Democrats Who Joined Republicans to Increase Military Budget Have Strong Defense Ties
Sara Sirota | The Intercept | September 3, 2021
In fact, Federal Election Commission data shows that in the first six months of this year, the 14 Democrats collectively received at least $135,000 from PACs representing the country’s top 10 defense vendors: Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, L3Harris, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Leidos, Honeywell, and Booz Allen Hamilton.
UK trade department draws half its secondees from arms industry
Rob Evans | The Guardian | October 8, 2017
MBDA, the European missile-maker, has provided two secondees, and the helicopter manufacturer Leonardo, the engineering firm Babcock and the US arms companies Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have provided one each.
USA: By Announcing New Jobs, Corporations Help Themselves Too
Bill Vlasic | The New York Times | January 17, 2017
Lockheed Martin, whose chief executive, Marillyn A. Hewson, met with Mr. Trump on Friday and promised to create 1,800 new jobs, depends on the government for more than 70 percent of its $46 billion in revenue.
USA: Like Clinton, Trump is getting Wall Street and special interest campaign cash
Jonathan D. Salant | NJ.com | November 7, 2016
Lockheed Martin Corp. employees also are in Trump's top 10. Trump has called for eliminating limits on defense spending put in place by congressional Republicans and the White House.
USA: Lockheed’s top government affairs official not registered as lobbyist
Austin Wright & Jeremy Herb | Politico | July 3, 2016
The company maintains that Robert Rangel, its senior vice president for government affairs since early last year and a former chief of staff to Defense Secretaries Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates, isn’t required to disclose his efforts to influence Congress and the executive branch.
Lockheed Martin pays $4.7 million to settle charges it lobbied for federal contract with federal money
Lisa Rein | The Washington Post | August 27, 2015
The world’s largest defense contractor has agreed to pay $4.7 million to settle charges that it used government money illegally to lobby top federal officials for an extension of its contract to run one of the country’s premier nuclear weapons labs.
USA: Lockheed Martin's Creative Lobbying
Paul Waldman | The American Prospect | June 26, 2012
Right before Election Day, the company is likely to notify the "vast majority" of its 123,000 workers that they're at risk of being laid off, said Greg Walters, the company's vice president of legislative affairs.
Lockheed Martin gets involved in Hungarian scandal
Flight Global | June 15, 1999
The scandal centres on Hungarian political lobbying to appoint Steven Jones, Lockheed Martin representative in Hungary, as the next US ambassador in Budapest. A letter addressed to two US congressmen, including Jesse Helms, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, was leaked to the Hungarian newspaper Nepszava.
Lockheed Agrees to Pay Record Fine: Calabasas firm pleads guilty in connection with bribing an Egyptian politician.
Los Angeles Times | January 28, 1995
Lockheed Corp. agreed Friday to pay a record $24.8 million in penalties and pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act--a federal law that stemmed from a Lockheed overseas bribery scandal in the 1970s.
Lockheed Paid $38 Million in Bribes Abroad
William H. Jones & John F. Berry | The Washington Post | May 27, 1977
Top officers of Lockheed Aircraft Corp. inaugurated and directed a program of foreign bribery that included questionable payments of up to $38 million from 1970 through 1975, according to a court-ordered report made public yesterday.
Dutch Prince Was Given $1.1 Million by Lockheed
Richard L. Madden | The New York Times | February 7, 1976
The Lockheed Aircraft Corporation paid $1.1 million to Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, who is also inspector general of the Dutch armed forces, to promote the sale of its aircraft, a source familiar with the investigation confirmed today.
& Evasion
US defense giants show how American capitalism fails taxpayers
Heather Timmons | Quartz | February 4, 2019
As big US companies close their books for 2018, the top beneficiaries of Donald Trump’s tax cuts are becoming clear—the firms that reported big jumps in profits rewarded investors with dividends and more than $1 trillion in share buybacks.
Netherlands Is the Tax Haven of Choice for Global Arms Dealers
TeleSUR | June 2, 2016
The study demonstrates how arms companies profit from public money but contribute as little as possible to the public budgets of the countries in which tey are based. Among the big companies exploiting Dutch laxity are U.S. military contractors Lockheed Martin, Boeing and BAE Systems.
USA: FTC sues to block Lockheed Martin acquisition of Aerojet Rocketdyne
Michael Sheetz | CNBC | January 25, 2022
The complaint “alleges that if the deal is allowed to proceed, Lockheed will use its control of Aerojet to harm rival defense contractors and further consolidate multiple markets critical to national security and defense,” the FTC said in a statement.
Saudi Arabia signs deal with Lockheed Martin to enhance kingdom's defense and weapons manufacturing capabilities - weeks after Biden announced temporary freeze on arms sales to Middle East
Reuters | Daily Mail | February 21, 2021
Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) has signed an agreement to set up a joint venture with US firm Lockheed Martin to enhance the kingdom's defense and manufacturing capabilities, the state-owned Saudi company said on Sunday.