10 Facts About Skunk Works

Skunk Works is an official pseudonym for Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Programs, formerly called Lockheed Advanced Development Projects.

Skunk Works name was taken from the "Skonk Oil" factory in the comic strip Li'l Abner.

Two days later the go-ahead was given to Lockheed to start development and the Skunk Works was born, with Kelly Johnson at the helm.

Kelly Johnson and his Skunk Works team designed and built the XP-80 in only 143 days, seven fewer than was required.

In 1955, the Skunk Works received a contract from the CIA to build a spyplane known as the U-2 with the intention of flying over the Soviet Union and photographing sites of strategic interest.

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Skunk Works had predicted that the U-2 would have a limited operational life over the Soviet Union.

In late 1959, Skunk Works received a contract to build five A-12 aircraft at a cost of $96 million.

In 1976, the Skunk Works began production on a pair of stealth technology demonstrators for the U S Air Force named Have Blue in Building 82 at Burbank.

Term "Skunk Works" came from Al Capp's satirical, hillbilly comic strip Li'l Abner, which was immensely popular from 1935 through the 1950s.

Skunk Works holds several registrations of it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.