Lockheed Martin’s famous secretive Skunk Works unit is known for its role in giving life to the U-2 Spy plane, F-22 and first ever stealth aircraft – the F-117 Nighthawk, however there are lesser known yet impactful programs tied to the special unit such as the C-130 cargo plane.
C-130 Aircraft & Skunk Works
The C-130 first emerged decades ago and is continuing to improve performance through a wide-range of ongoing upgrades.
The aircraft is also a key example of Air Force efforts to redefine, expand or enlarge mission scope for many of its existing platforms through innovations, software enhancements and other new technological adaptations.
This is one of the reasons why the C-130 represents essential elements of the strategy inspiring Lockheed Skunk Works which includes seeking to sustain close connectivity with war-fighting needs, threats and requirements while pursuing the rapid identification and insertion of new technologies quickly as they become available.
“The C-130 originally came out of Skunk Works, and to this day, Skunk Works supports that program in terms of coming up with new innovative capabilities to put out on that platform and new innovative ways to think about using that platform to stay focused on what the warfighter needs,” Renee Pasman, Integrated Systems Director, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®, told The National Interest in an interview.
Given the longevity and impact of upgrades to the C-130, and massive extent to which the Air Force has been enlarging and reshaping its mission scope in recent years, the aircraft is a prime example of Skunk Works’ mandate to maintain close connectivity between promising, deployable innovations and emerging warzone needs.
The secretive Lockheed unit maintains ongoing involvement in enhancements to the 1950s-era aircraft which may well fly for more than 80 years.
