In 1943, Lockheed's Burbank operation began development of a new jet for the U.S. Army Air Corps in secret. The development team adopted the name "Skunk Works" and the following year, Lockheed's XP-80 Shooting Star, the first American jet fighter, flew for the first time. The plane was built in complete secrecy by the Skunk Works and in 1947, it set a new world air speed record at 623.8 mph.
Today, Advanced Development Programs (a.k.a. The Skunk Works) continues in the California desert city of Palmdale.
SR-71 'Blackbird'
The Polecat high-altitude, long-endurance UAV was built and flown in secret
Morphing hunter-killer UAV would combine endurance and speed
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And who knows what other Lockheed secrets are brewing...?
My Dad was a maintenance painter at the Skunk Works. He used to bring home all sorts of stuff with that skunk on it. - Wes
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