Skunk Works: A Personal Memoir of My Years at Lockheed

Product Information

I've no doubt that Ben Rich is a great engineer, but Johnson, the founder of the Skunk Works, was a legend who won two Collier Trophies and could estimate an aviation problem to 95% accuracy that'd take hours of calculation to prove. The Skunk Works® is the proud home of eight Collier Trophies, awarded annually by the National Aeronautic Association for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America during the preceding year. I had no idea what achievements the U2, the SR-71, and the various stealth aircraft I’ve always sort of known were.

Sixty-two miles north of Los Angeles, this desert town known as America’s Aerospace Valley is home to one of the most secretive aircraft design and production programs on the planet. For example, build a spy plane capable of taking crystal-clear photographs from 70,000 feet and a Mach-3 aircraft fast enough to outrun enemy missiles that could fly continuously for hours on end. It combines a number of fascinating approaches: philosophies around project management, the interaction with the Soviet Union during those years, geopolitics, and the author's perspective on leadership, as well as how federal spending works.But as someone who builds technology for the US government, the sense of patriotism and true American creativity the permeated Lockheed Martin during the Cold War was a notable theme, as was the impact that the technological breakthroughs made in those secret labs had on the national security posture of the US. For defense tech journalists and aviation nerds, this is the equivalent of a Golden Ticket to Willy Wonka’s factory, but think supersonic drones instead of Everlasting Gobstoppers. The book is all about Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works, but focuses mostly on the U-2 spy plane, the mach-3 Blackbird, and the technology known as "stealth". From starter-level training to in-depth ESG reporting, explore more than 30 sustainability classes, credentials and .

A good look at the military aviation industry in the US from the end of the World War II, with the first jet aircraft, until the end of the 20th century.With a high degree of autonomy, access to funds and exceptional freedom from the bureaucracy and the management constraints of the parent organizations, skunk works teams can truly attempt what has never been done and speed up innovation at an incredible rate. An artist rendering of a next-generation drone demonstrates an unmanned aircraft teaming with an F-35. A sweeping, atmospheric history of Bell Labs that highlights its unparalleled role as an incubator of innovation and birthplace of the century's most influential technologies.