Tag: lockheed martin

U.S. Approves Mexico’s $1.08 Billion Request for Helicopters, Equipment

The U.S. Department of State announced approval for the sale of 11 helicopters, high-tech equipment, and weapons to the Government of Mexico to strengthen its security operations.

State Department officials said Sikorsky, part of Lockheed Martin, would handle the sale.

The sale will include 11 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, 27 engines, 27 GPS Systems, and 27 radios. The helicopters would come outfitted with state-of-the-art equipment, including night vision, machine guns, and laser targeting systems.

The sale also includes training for Mexican soldiers and would require 15 U.S. officials or contractors to travel to Mexico for extended periods to provide training and support for the helicopters.

U.S. officials said the sale is meant to modernize Mexico’s helicopter fleet and strengthen relations and cooperation on security matters.

The move comes at a time when Mexico has been the topic of much criticism by the Trump administration and Republican legislators for its refusal to fully work with the United States to eradicate drug cartels and to also go after cartel-connected politicians.

As Breitbart Texas reported, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has been outspoken about not allowing U.S. troops or agents to operate inside her country, citing national sovereignty.

Most other countries in Latin America have joined an international anti-cartel effort called Shield of the Americas, where they have granted the U.S. full cooperation that includes shared intelligence, drone strikes, and joint operations with U.S. troops. The United States is also expected to train military and police partners in Latin America.

Mexico, by contrast, has limited international cooperation, limited to intelligence sharing while Mexican authorities carry out the actual operations. In one of the most famous controversies, Mexico’s federal government is currently prosecuting former Chihuahua Attorney General Cesar Jauregui for having run joint operations with agents from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency where they found and dismantled some of the largest drug labs in recent history, Breitbart Texas reported.

Sheinbaum and her government have also drawn heavy criticism for refusing to arrest and extradite Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya. As Breitbart Texas reported, Rocha Moya is wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice on a criminal indictment accusing him of drug trafficking conspiracy and weapons charges for allegedly working for the Sinaloa Cartel.

Keep reading

Knives Out: Hegseth’s Wife Reportedly Paid By Trump-Connected Firm That Also Worked For Lockheed

Jennifer Hegseth, the wife of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, was paid last year by Watchtower Strategy, a Trump-connected Washington consulting firm that counted Lockheed Martin as a client the same year, according to Hegseth’s annual financial disclosure report, as Politico‘s Daniel Lippman first reported on Wednesday.

The disclosure lists her consulting work for the firm but not how much she was paid, according to Politico. Jennifer Hegseth, a former longtime Fox News producer, is the daughter of a late Lockheed Martin executive.

Watchtower was founded in January 2025 and sells strategic advice, advocacy and communications work. Its roster includes former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Republican operatives Jeff Miller, Arthur Schwartz, Dan Conston and Brian O. Walsh. Lockheed was a Watchtower client last year, according to POLITICO Influence; asked whether it still is, a Lockheed spokesperson didn’t answer directly, saying only that the company routinely works with a number of firms.

Watchtower says she was hired for her TV contacts, not her husband’s job. A spokesperson said she helped the firm navigate conservative TV media and “has not interfaced with any clients nor does she provide any advice to Watchtower on defense matters.” The firm declined to say whether she still works there.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the Hegseths are “in full compliance with all ethics laws and regulations.” Jennifer Hegseth didn’t respond to Politico’s request for comment. She has been an unusually visible Pentagon spouse, and accompanied her husband to meetings with Republican senators during his confirmation fight.

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who sat on the House Armed Services Committee and was Trump’s first pick for attorney general in 2024, wasn’t buying it.

Keep reading

Ukraine Asks Lockheed For Patriot Production Licenses While Its Inner Circle Faces Corruption Charges

Ukraine has asked Lockheed Martin to let it manufacture America’s most advanced air defense interceptor, the Patriot missile, on Ukrainian soil. At a meeting in Kyiv on October 19, Volodymyr Zelensky described to Orlando Sanchez Jr., President of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, a request to ‘jointly produce’ the interceptor under ‘production licenses’, and said Ukraine hopes to buy some ballistic-missile interceptors outright. He also requested that F-16s be repaired in Ukraine. Sanchez said Lockheed is ready to deepen cooperation.

As of now, the meeting hasn’t produced any figures (quantities and/or dollar values) or timeframes, which is the only reason this story is not bigger. Transferring the missile technology of America’s most advanced air defenses to a government that is currently struggling to contain its own corruption scandals is the ask on the table.

The corruption unearthed by Ukraine’s anti-corruption bureau NABU in its Operation Midas investigation is a matter of public record. NABU says the outfit ran as a massive criminal organization, taking kickbacks of 10% to 15% from contractors to the state nuclear operator Energoatom, and laundering roughly $100 million. The alleged organizer of the gang was Timur Mindich, a long-time business associate of President Zelensky’s from their days at Kvartal 95 studio. Andriy Yermak, then head of the President’s Office, who stepped down on the day investigators searched his apartment in November 2025, was charged with large-scale money laundering in May 2026. He has been denying any wrongdoing on his part. The same case also led to charges against a former energy minister.

This would be a massive transfer of highly protected technology to a government whose inner circle stands accused of skimming wartime funds. American taxpayers have been underwriting this war. Nobody serious is asking whether corruption reaches Kyiv’s top offices. The question is whether Washington wants to hand this same system the blueprints to some of the most guarded and protected technology that Raytheon and Lockheed Martin have to offer.

Ukraine has also reopened its arms exports. Reuters reported in February that Kyiv was opening up wartime technology sales to raise cash, and Zelensky has framed the policy as “controlled” sales of surplus production. Recent defense cooperation agreements have been signed by Ukrainian officials with countries of the Gulf. A country that is shopping its military industry abroad for cash while still at war is unlikely to keep licensed Patriot production in a locked safe once it has the technology. The next buyer would be whoever pays most.

It is after all the Pentagon’s own Inspector General who highlighted serious problems with the US DoD’s attempt to track more than $1 billion in high-risk defense equipment, including Javelin and Stinger missiles, sent to Ukraine over the past years. If Washington struggled to track shoulder-fired weapons, it should not be exporting the manufacturing know-how for Patriot interceptors.

Keep reading

NASA is Trying to Bring Back This Amazing Supersonic Jet 

NASA is currently looking at bringing back the SR-71 Blackbird aircraft, first developed by Lockheed Martin in the 1960s.

This airplane travels at altitudes of more than 80,000 feet and can reach a speed of 2,200 miles per hour. The two pilots, who are the only passengers in the plane, must wear special space-type suits. It’s an amazing piece of engineering.

The plane was retired in the 1990s. No word yet on the reason for bringing it back.

The New York Post reports:

NASA mysteriously trying to pull world’s fastest plane, SR-71 Blackbird, out of retirement — and won’t say why

NASA appears to be pulling the fastest plane ever produced —the SR-71 Blackbird — out of retirement as the Trump administration suggested it’s working on a new generation of hypersonic surveillance jets.

Former NASA and Air Force engineers confirmed that they had been recently offered jobs to get an old Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird back in the air nearly 27-years after its last flight, Aviation Week reported.

Mike Relja, a former test engineer for the Blackbird — which is capable of reaching speeds of Mach 3.3, 2,200 mph — said NASA reached out to him last month to get the neglected plane up and running, but added that he was now too old for such a massive undertaking…

The aircraft, which debuted 59 years ago, still holds the achievement for fastest crewed jet-flight on public record.

At Mach 3.3, for example, it could fly from New York to Los Angeles in a little over an hour — compared to about 5 hours and 30 minutes for a commercial airliner.

Retired NASA employees also confirmed that other Blackbird engineers were contacted over the summer to do work on the jet.

Keep reading

US Shipment Of F-35s Goes MIA In Shocking Detour To Hong Kong

Lawmakers and the Trump administration are investigating the odd disappearance of a U.S.-bound shipment of F-35 fighter jet components from Australia, which were originally meant to be repaired on U.S. soil, according to new reporting by Politico.

The report, published Friday and citing three anonymous sources, noted that an intermediary was transporting the equipment on behalf of American defense manufacturer Lockheed Martin through the Pacific Ocean before it was diverted to Hong Kong.

The three unnamed sources suggested that neither the Pentagon nor Lockheed Martin knows why the shipment ended up in Hong Kong.

The current whereabouts of the components remain unknown, triggering concerns over whether China may have gotten its hands on them.

China, which has tightened its control of Hong Kong in recent years, has long sought to gather intelligence on the F-35 program.

The missing components were part of the F-35 Lightning II, which Lockheed Martin describes on its website as the “most lethal, survivable, and connected fighter aircraft” for America and its allies.

Specifically, among the missing items is an F-35 canopy, a major part of the fighter jet that contains sensitive technology, according to Politico.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office has called the F-35 the “most costly weapon system” in the U.S. military, and the Pentagon has already spent between $200 billion and $250 billion on the program, according to estimates.

The State Department and the Pentagon reportedly briefed lawmakers on the matter in June, the report added.

In a statement, the Pentagon office responsible for the F-35 jets said it was “aware of a shipment issue of unserviceable F-35 Lightning II components.”

The military office said an investigation is underway to retrieve the missing components and determine what happened.

Headline USA reached out to the office for further clarification but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Lockheed Martin, for its part, declined to provide information on the matter, citing security reasons, Politico noted.

“Our teams handle every shipment with the utmost diligence and safeguards to ensure the integrity of the F-35 program and the security of our allied partners,” the company said.

Keep reading

Lockheed Fast-Tracks Secretive AIM-260 Missile As Pentagon Pushes To Expand Production

Lockheed Martin has signed a framework agreement with the Pentagon to accelerate production and delivery of the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, bringing a closely guarded air-to-air weapons program further into public view. The announcement Thursday sets the foundation for a multiyear procurement contract, which remains subject to congressional approval.

The company says the missile offers greater range and effectiveness than existing air-to-air weapons and is compatible with aircraft including the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II. It did not disclose a production target, delivery schedule, contract value or precise performance specifications. The announcement establishes a commitment to expand production, not a publicly measurable timetable for doing so.

Reuters reported that the program is intended to address increasingly capable Chinese long-range air threats, including those associated with the J-20 fighter. Although the weapon has spent years under tight secrecy, Thursday was not its first public appearance: images emerged in May. The production push also comes amid broader pressure on American and allied missile inventories following the Iran conflict.

That context makes two separate questions important: what the missile can do, and how many can actually reach operational units. A performance advantage has limited practical value if manufacturers cannot supply enough weapons, replace expended stocks or support additional customers.

Australia is already preparing to become one of those customers.

Canberra announced on August 6 that it would invest almost A$736 million to acquire the AIM-260 through the U.S. government’s foreign military sales system. The planned integration sequence starts with Australia’s F/A-18F Super Hornets, followed by its F-35A fighters and EA-18G Growlers. Australia’s government says it will become the first country outside the United States to operate the weapon.

The Australian announcement describes the acquisition as a way to extend engagement range and improve interoperability with American forces. It does not specify a missile quantity or delivery date, although Marles has said the weapon will not be available before 2033, and a December 2025 U.S. approval covered up to 450 missiles in a package valued at about $3.16 billion.

Lockheed’s industrial expansion extends beyond the AIM-260.

In a separate announcement Thursday, the company said GM Defense had delivered an initial batch of housing components for the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptor just 22 days after the companies signed a formal contract. That agreement was signed August 6, with the first components delivered August 28. These were components for a different missile program, not completed interceptors or AIM-260 deliveries.

Lockheed says it is investing between $8 billion and $9 billion to expand munitions production across more than 20 American sites. Planned construction and expansion would increase its munitions production and warehousing space by almost 50%, according to the company. The GM partnership uses commercial casting and machining capabilities to supplement the defense supply chain.

Keep reading

How Lockheed Martin, Raytheon & BAE Systems are propagandizing children to support war through STEM

Raytheon sponsors the Girl Scouts of America. BAE Systems is reading your toddlers their favorite fairytale stories. And Lockheed Martin funds children’s math and STEM festivals. This is done with great fanfare, supposedly to empower and inspire children to pursue their passion for science. In reality, though, these companies are attempting to launder their images and enlist the next generation to become cogs in the military-industrial complex.

All the while, these organizations’ products are being used across the world by the United States and Israel to commit war crimes – in Iran, Yemen, Palestine, and beyond – to target children.

MintPress explores the murky world of the arms companies training kids to bomb kids.

Normalizing War to Kids

When many Americans think of Raytheon (now officially rebranded as RTX Corporation), they don’t envisage rockets and cruise missiles; they think of math. For decades, the second-largest arms manufacturer on the planet has bankrolled a wide range of organizations aimed at getting children excited about STEM subjects.

Since 2009, Raytheon has been the title sponsor of MATHCOUNTS, a non-profit organization that provides engaging math programs for middle school students in every U.S. state, as well as organizing math competitions to find the brightest children in America.

In 2005, Raytheon launched its MathMovesU program, aimed, in its own words, “to inspire middle school students to get excited about math and science.” In addition to the materials provided, it has also spent millions on scholarships, grants, and study awards to thousands of students, teachers, and volunteers.

And its MathAlive! traveling exhibit promises, in rather outdated branding, to take math “2theXtreme”. MathAlive! Has also traveled to several countries in West Asia, including Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia – all of them among the biggest purchasers of Raytheon weapons technology.

The company also enjoys a longtime partnership with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA). In 2017, for example, it launched the GSUSA’s first national computer science program and cyber challenge for middle and high school girls.

“The progress to diversify the STEM workforce needs to be accelerated… At a time when technology is transforming the way we live and work, we can – and should – show young women a clear path to taking an active role in this transformation,” said Thomas A. Kennedy, then-Raytheon CEO; “Working together, Raytheon and Girl Scouts will help girls build confidence to see themselves as the robotics engineers, data scientists and cybersecurity professionals who will create a better tomorrow.”

Raytheon also spearheaded the GSUSA’s “Think Like a Programmer” project, which encourages girls to explore the world of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and developed many of the programming badges available to the scouts.

GSUSA appears proud of this relationship. Its website profiles one former scout who now works at Raytheon as a success story and a model to follow. The article includes a step-by-step guide and a list of tips for those wishing to follow in her footsteps.

Unsurprisingly, Raytheon also works closely with the U.S. military on these matters, establishing four new STEM “centers of innovation” with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Michigan, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Washington, D.C., all near military bases.

While some might be surprised by the closeness of the relationship between a children’s organization and an arms manufacturer, it is worth remembering that the scouting movement was originally established by Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell, as a stepping stone towards boys joining the military. Baden-Powell was deeply concerned that English boys would not be physically fit enough to fight for their country in any upcoming wars, and designed an organization that would train them both physically and mentally to do so.

Kirsten Bayes from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade was unimpressed by Raytheon’s attempts to improve their image and to train the next generation of weapons manufacturers. “Our view is that arms companies have no place in schools or colleges, and should certainly not be working with children’s educational charities,” she told MintPress, adding:

“Schools and other places of education should be places where children learn, grow and develop their full potential. They should not be a recruiting ground where arms companies whitewash their activities.”

Keep reading

How Lockheed Martin, Raytheon & Bae Systems Are Propagandizing Children To Support War Through Stem

Raytheon sponsors the Girl Scouts of America. BAE Systems is reading your toddlers their favorite fairytale stories. And Lockheed Martin funds children’s math and STEM festivals. This is done with great fanfare, supposedly to empower and inspire children to pursue their passion for science. In reality, though, these companies are attempting to launder their images and enlist the next generation to become cogs in the military-industrial complex.

All the while, these organizations’ products are being used across the world by the United States and Israel to commit war crimes – in Iran, Yemen, Palestine, and beyond – to target children.

MintPress explores the murky world of the arms companies training kids to bomb kids.

Normalizing War to Kids

When many Americans think of Raytheon (now officially rebranded as RTX Corporation), they don’t envisage rockets and cruise missiles; they think of math. For decades, the second-largest arms manufacturer on the planet has bankrolled a wide range of organizations aimed at getting children excited about STEM subjects.

Since 2009, Raytheon has been the title sponsor of MATHCOUNTS, a non-profit organization that provides engaging math programs for middle school students in every U.S. state, as well as organizing math competitions to find the brightest children in America.

In 2005, Raytheon launched its MathMovesU program, aimed, in its own words, “to inspire middle school students to get excited about math and science.” In addition to the materials provided, it has also spent millions on scholarships, grants, and study awards to thousands of students, teachers, and volunteers.

And its MathAlive! traveling exhibit promises, in rather outdated branding, to take math “2theXtreme”. MathAlive! Has also traveled to several countries in West Asia, including Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia – all of them among the biggest purchasers of Raytheon weapons technology.

The company also enjoys a longtime partnership with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA). In 2017, for example, it launched the GSUSA’s first national computer science program and cyber challenge for middle and high school girls.“

The progress to diversify the STEM workforce needs to be accelerated… At a time when technology is transforming the way we live and work, we can – and should – show young women a clear path to taking an active role in this transformation,” said Thomas A. Kennedy, then-Raytheon CEO; “Working together, Raytheon and Girl Scouts will help girls build confidence to see themselves as the robotics engineers, data scientists and cybersecurity professionals who will create a better tomorrow.”

Raytheon also spearheaded the GSUSA’s “Think Like a Programmer” project, which encourages girls to explore the world of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and developed many of the programming badges available to the scouts.

GSUSA appears proud of this relationship. Its website profiles one former scout who now works at Raytheon as a success story and a model to follow. The article includes a step-by-step guide and a list of tips for those wishing to follow in her footsteps.

Unsurprisingly, Raytheon also works closely with the U.S. military on these matters, establishing four new STEM “centers of innovation” with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Michigan, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Washington, D.C., all near military bases.

While some might be surprised by the closeness of the relationship between a children’s organization and an arms manufacturer, it is worth remembering that the scouting movement was originally established by Lieutenant-General Robert Baden-Powell, as a stepping stone towards boys joining the military. Baden-Powell was deeply concerned that English boys would not be physically fit enough to fight for their country in any upcoming wars, and designed an organization that would train them both physically and mentally to do so.

Kirsten Bayes from the Campaign Against the Arms Trade was unimpressed by Raytheon’s attempts to improve their image and to train the next generation of weapons manufacturers. “Our view is that arms companies have no place in schools or colleges, and should certainly not be working with children’s educational charities,” she told MintPress, adding:

“Schools and other places of education should be places where children learn, grow and develop their full potential. They should not be a recruiting ground where arms companies whitewash their activities.”

Keep reading

Lockheed Martin To Produce Cheaper Patriot Interceptor Missiles To Address Skyrocketing Demand for Air Defense

Air defense is the name of the game.

It’s an unfortunate fact that we live in an increasingly dangerous world full of conflict.

Everywhere you turn, countries are hearing the martial drums in the air, and are rearming like there’s no tomorrow.

And in this brave new world of cheap swarming drones, the biggest bottleneck in the defense procurement of these countries is the air defense systems and intercepting missiles.

It also doesn’t help that the most sought-after systems and missiles, the Patriot, are exceedingly expensive and slow to manufacture.

In this scenario, Lockheed Martin announced today (20) a lower-cost Patriot interceptor, as the established defense contractors ‘face competition from startups making low-cost weapons that can ​be produced at scale’.

Reuters reported:

“Lockheed said its new PAC-3 Adapted Capability Effector, or ​ACE, missile would cost less than half as much as its ⁠PAC-3 MSE interceptors, which cost roughly $4 million per missile, according to U.S. ​Army budget documents.

Initial production could start within 36 months, the company said, adding that ​it plans to develop and manufacture the weapon with U.S. and European industry partners.

‘American and allied warfighters need a solution that is battle-tested and budget-smart’, Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin ​Missiles and Fire Control, said in a statement at Britain’s Farnborough Airshow.”

Keep reading

Lockheed Martin Ready to Ship Typhon Missiles to Germany To Strike Moscow

The American defense contractor Lockheed Martin has pledged to accelerate the production of Typhon strike complexes for Germany if the United States and Germany sign a relevant agreement. The report was published by Defense News.
According to Edward Dobek, program director for launch systems at Lockheed Martin, the company’s facility in Moorestown, New Jersey is capable of delivering Typhon launchers to Germany within a year. He added that the faster delivery would depend on the governments of both countries reaching a timely agreement.
Earlier, the American magazine Military Watch Magazine reported that Germany is seeking to acquire Tomahawk cruise missiles and Typhon missile launchers from the United States, with the goal of gaining long-range strike capabilities potentially reaching as far as Moscow.

German Defense Ministry Confirms Interest in Typhon Systems

In July, following talks with his American counterpart Pete Hegseth, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that Berlin is considering the purchase of Typhon missile complexes from the United States.

Keep reading