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Projects by Skunk Works

Not many people know about Skunk works. Skunk works is a secret privately funded
section of Lockheed martin, and all of their projects for the U.S. government had been
kept under secrecy until about 20 years ago when the public could finally find out what
the company had done for the country.
1. The U-2 or Dragon Lady
The U-2 plane is a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft that was used to spy on the
Soviet union in 1956. The U-2 was Skunk works second plane and a very important one
at that. The plane was an odd design having a 103 foot wingspan which is two times
longer than a semi truck and a ceiling of 70,000 feet which is two and a half time taller
than Mount Everest. The wings would also flap in any kind of turbulence and the hight
kept them out of range of most missiles. Only one U-2 has ever been shot down, and
the U-2 has been remodeled and renamed so that it is still in service today.
2. The SR-71 or the Blackbird

The blackbird was built in the 60s and traveled at mach 3 (three times the speed of
sound) it held the record for the fastest manned aircraft until the X-15 took the title. The
blackbird was used to spy on the Cubans as well as the Soviets in the Cold War. It was
considered a Wild stallion of a plane by Ben R. Rich. If you turned at the wrong
moment, you could end up in a different state. Another story about the blackbird is that it
was once detected over soviet russia, and a missile was fired at it but the blackbirds
speed outran the missile so the missile coulnt hit it.
3. F-117 or the Night Hawk

The F-117 World changing plane that kept Skunk Works standing. It's odd diamond
shaped plane that many people including the newly retired chief of Skunk Works Kelly
Johnson that it would never get off the ground. The F-117 was designed to be a stealth
reconnaissance vehicle as well as a stealth bomber. The idea for this plane was all of
the flat panels would decrease the size of the Radar Cross section for the F-117. Radar
Cross section is the amount of radar waves an object reflects back to the receiver,
telling us how large the object is which allows to know what the object is. During testing
models of the F-117 were founded to have a radar cross section about the size of a
marble. When the plane was officially produced it was flown right next to the most
powerful radar sentry (a early warning plane) the Boeing E-3, and it could still not be
detected. The plane further proved itself in operation desert storm.

4. The F-35

The F-35 is a multi role fighter that is the pinnacle of aviation today. The F-35 is not only
a fighter jet, but it is a stealth fighter jet. The most recent modification the F-35 is the
new F-35 II. The F-35 II has VTOL capability (Vertical Take Off and Landing) meaning it
can be used in very tight spaces such as aircraft carriers. Some of the most advanced
radar couldnt pick up the F-35 until the chinese claimed they picked up the F-35 on the
way to South Korea. However the F-35 the picked up had extra fuel tanks under the
wing.

5. The D-21

The D-21 was a missile like drone in which it would dropped off by another plane such
as a B-52 Stratofortress and speed across the sky taking pictures of everything below it
before turning around and heading right back home. The D-21 was Skunk works last
project before the company went into a lul without any business until the F-117.