As an '86 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy who studied aeronautical engineering, part of aerospace industry lore I learned is of the legendary 'Skunkworks' at Lockheed in the mid-twentieth century.
The Skunk Works is the official alias for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs (ADP), a highly secretive aerospace engineering division renowned for rapidly developing cutting-edge aircraft and technologies under tight deadlines and minimal bureaucracy. Founded in June 1943 by engineer Clarence "Kelly" L. Johnson in response to an urgent U.S. Army Air Forces requirement for a jet fighter to counter German advances, the division built its first project, the XP-80 Shooting Star, in just 143 days using a small team in a rented circus tent adjacent to Lockheed's Burbank facility. The name "Skunk Works" originated from a comic strip reference suggested by engineer Irv Culver, alluding to the site's strong odors from nearby plastic fumes and the secretive, unconventional nature of the work.
During the last few days, I participated in the Los Angeles leg of the Department of War Arsenal of Freedom Tour, where Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has been showcasing innovative defense contractors rebuilding American defense manufacturing with new processes, shorter timelines, and at a much-reduced cost, all with American workers, and American parts.
And, boy, are these companies innovating.
The Department of War is focusing on scaling up weapons production by unleashing competition, and securing firm fixed-cost contracts. DOW forbids foreign labor or parts to be involved in these new contracts.
"Acquisition Transformation focus is on incentivizing companies to bear upfront investment costs by providing longer term contracts, strengthening the defense industrial base and fostering competition. DOW wants to deliver the best technology to warfighters as fast as possible," said a senior War Department Official on the tour.
"DOW is ensuring no foreign personnel involvement in academia for defense work. Removing the Chinese supply chain is also a focus."
The first stop on the tour, after a swearing-in ceremony for new DOW recruits, was Divergent Technologies. This firm is cutting edge when it comes to 3D printing, honing its skills on mulit-million dollar bespoke hyper cars with proprietary alloys at Divergent's sister company Czinger. They are now bringing this capability into the cruise missile business.
The father and son owners call Divergent 'next generation digital manufacturing'. After an 'off the record' tour of the plant, I can vouch for that description. The work force is proud of their accomplishments and their products. It shows in the excitement they exude when they discuss their processes and manufacturing capabilities.
The next companuy visited on the tour - Castelion - is building a new a hypersonic missile system named 'Blackbeard', to be fielded at scale in 2027. Coming off a fresh $350M funding round, Castelion is pushing the boundaries of speed, cost and lethality.
Castelion Co-Founder and CFO Andrew Kreitz, formerly at SpaceX, described how the company will change the way the U.S. develops hypersonic weapons -- long range, hard to intercept, and strategically critical in the western Pacific. "The U.S. is very far behind, and China is two decades ahead in manufacturing, and production rate," he said. But Kreitz is very optimistic. His message is one of optimism -- we have the best engineers, and the best work force, to rebuild American manufacturing capability in this space.
Kreitz said the current defense oligopoly has not spent money well. "We are risk on, aggressive, to get to hardware as early as possible, to test, and get to market. We are restoring the Apollo era: our series B capital raise is done. Blackbeard will be the first product. We are close to testing, then will put into production. We are taking risk on our own dime; we put money where our mouth is. We will deliver in 2027. We are currently building a production site at scale -- Project Ranger in New Mexico...1,000 acres, and will produce thousands of units per year starting in 2027.
"We are excited about DOW leaning into procurement, entirely independent of China. The culture is important. We test early, iterate, and do it again. We are not scared to vertically integrate, put everything in house.
"Blackbeard will be an order of magnitude cheaper. From $4M a hypersonic missile unit today, to somewhere between three to four hundred thousand dollars.
"We had a development team in the desert living in trailers for months. It was more secure, and produced rapid innovation. We called them the 'Desert Rats'.
"We will build factories with the same iterative process. This is a change in the zeitgeist of the industry.
"The U.S. has become complacent. We can no longer afford that luxury. Our customers are waiting on the product."
Building The Blackbeard At Castelion - Pete Hegseth -Arsenal Of Freedom Tour
And it's not just manufacturing, DOW is implement AI across the entire department. Having already launched a Google AI product, X AI is now being integrated as well.
"DOW is implementing multiple AI platforms going forward including X AI. All have to be tested for bias via output analysis. Anecdotes from the field have been very positive with impact on mission planning. DOW is working on cutting edge computing for real time use in the field and in cockpits", said a senior War Department official.
The last company visited, Rocket Lab', was where Secretary Hegseth gave his longest speech to the largest workforce crowd, where he was treated like a rockstar with Nirvana thumping the factory floor as he took the stage. The merit-based hired crowd loved it, high-fiving Hegseth as he walked in, followed by heavily-armed security.
Hegseth took pains to make sure the RocketLab employees knew they were critical to the future of the nation, and the success of warfighters in the fight around the world.
Rocket Lab! Sec War Hegseth Speech Motivating Employees To Innovate
It should be known that the two-day trip was only one leg of a mutlipronged Arsenal of Freedom Tour, visiting shipyards in Virginia, factories in Texas, and other facilities cross the land.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth will travel to Brownsville and Fort Worth, Texas, tomorrow, to visit SpaceX and Lockheed Martin. Secretary Hegseth will deliver his third major speech since becoming Secretary of War. He will deliver remarks to the workforce and leaders at SpaceX, alongside its founder, Elon Musk. Secretary Hegseth will also administer the oath of enlistment to the next generation of American warfighters, writes DOW in a press release today.
American manufacturing is so back.
Damn…..don’t you realize there are spies in our country ?! Don’t tell them so much !!
All info was approved for release by DOW
Then where are the jobs? Oh, I get it, this is another jobless recovery that only benefits the rich!