Here's What We Know About Lockheed's Super-Secret Weapons Unit {IMAGES} [View all]

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http://www.businessinsider.com/what-we-know-about-lockheeds-secret-weapons-unit-2014-12


The SR-71 Blackbird

* Got its start in 1943 when Kelly Johnson and his engineers designed the first fighter jet for the U.S. military in a rented circus tent next to a manufacturing plant, whose strong odors permeated the place. Under orders to keep silent about their work, even when they answered the phone, an engineer responded to a phone call one day by referencing a stinky place called the "Skonk Works" featured in the popular Li'l Abner comic strip.

* While focused mainly on aircraft, it has developed other weapons, including the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile that entered service in 2009, and nuclear fusion energy that grabbed headlines several weeks ago.


The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile

* In the 1950s, developed and built the U-2, a spy plane that flies at 80,000 feet and was fielded within eight months.