Skunk Works Aircrafts Repair

Skunk Works serves as the official alias for Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Development Programs and its tactical research division. This unit has produced notable aircraft such as the F-117 Nighthawk and F-22 Raptor for the U.S. Air Force, yet it is best recognized for secretive projects and unusual designs. While the location of the program is kept classified, publically known locations have been reported on United States Air Force manufacturing bases including Plant 42 in Palmdale California, Plant 4 in Fort Worth Texas, and Plant 6 in Marietta Georgia.

Although the precise origin of Skunk Works is disputed, most agree its early phase began with the P-38 Lightning in 1939 and the P-80 Shooting Star in 1943, emerging under the title Lockheed Advanced Development Projects. The group would later adopt the nickname Skunk Works in 1938 during the development of the XP-38 Lightning after the development team was temporarily moved to the 3G Distillery, where the first YP-38 was built, which happened to reside next to a plastic factory. The smell caused by the factory was so putrid that engineer Irv Culver began answering the intra-Lockheed phone with "Skonk Works, inside man Culver speaking." The spelling came from Al Capp's comic strip Li'l Abner, Big Barnsmell's Skonk Works. Lockheed forced the spelling to be changed to "Skunk Works" after the name of the group was leaked, to avoid potential copyright infringement.

• Official Skunk Works Webpage