Martin Marietta / Lockheed Martin

Missiles and Electronics

Although the P6M SeaMaster is usually described as "Martin's last airplane," production of the P5M-2 continued until December 1960, more than a year after the P6M was cancelled. Moreover the Middle River factory worked on modifications to B-57 Canberras and P5M Marlins throughout the 1960's. In 1966, Martin built the X-24, a manned "lifting body" test vehicle (one of the prototypes for the Space Shuttle), that could be described as an aircraft. But the company's main focus clearly shifted from airplanes to missiles and electronics.

Martin helped pioneer American missile development in the 1940's, building the Navy Gorgon IV ramjet and KDM-1 Plover target drone, as well as the Air Force B-61 Matador (and its successor the TM-71 Mace) tactical missile. These were winged "pilotless aircraft" similar in construction to Martin's earlier products. The lack of a pilot, however, meant an important role for electronic guidance systems. In the "systems engineering teams" (originally used on the XB-48 project) set up to build each missile, Martin electronics engineers assumed ever greater roles. This development continued as the 1950's saw the emergence of vertically launched ballistic missiles. The Martin Viking, built for the Navy, was the first of these; it developed into the Vanguard satellite-launch vehicle. Martin established two new factories to build missiles: at Denver in 1955 for the Air Force Titan intercontinental ballistic missile; and at Orlando in 1958 for the Army's Pershing tactical ballistic missile. These were accompanied by an increasing number of space projects, including the Gemini launch vehicles, Viking Mars lander, Space Shuttle external fuel tank, and Magellan Venus probe. Weapons development continued with laser-guided "smart" munitions, Patriot anti-missile defenses, and research for President Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative.

In 1961 Martin President George Bunker engineered a merger with the American-Marietta Company, a conglomerate manufacturing paint, cement, and household consumer goods. The resulting diversification allowed Martin Marietta to survive the defense cuts of the 1970's. During the early 1980's, however, most of the non-defense businesses were sold; the proceeds were used to pay for Martin Marietta's epic resistance to a take-over attempt by William Agee's Bendix Corporation. Martin Marietta then became a primary beneficiary of increased defense spending during the rest of the decade.

Under the leadership of Chairman Norman Augustine, the company took a different approach during the defense cutbacks of the early 1990's. Martin Marietta purchased even larger shares of the nation's weapons and space business. In 1992, General Electric's aerospace electronics division was acquired, not long after GE had purchased RCA's space electronics division. In 1993, General Dynamics' space systems division was added. March 1995 saw the unprecedented merger between Martin Marietta and Lockheed, one of Martin's old rivals. This was just months after Lockheed had purchased General Dynamics' aircraft division, successor to another old competitor Consolidated.

During earlier eras of reduced armaments spending, the U.S. government had preserved a competitive manufacturing industry by doling out small orders to a number of manufacturers, including the Glenn L. Martin Company. During the 1990's, the Defense Department seemed to be following an opposite course - actually encouraging large-scale consolidations like Lockheed Martin and Northrop-Grumman.

Throughout all these changes, the original 1929 Glenn L. Martin plant - along with most of its World War II additions - still stand in Middle River. Plant Number 1, leased by General Electric's Middle River Aircraft Systems (MRAS), manufactures jet engine thrust reversers for Pratt and Whitney and GE. Lockheed Martin utilizes the former ET Building (used for static test of the P6M) in manufacturing the MK 41 VLS and THAAD missile launching systems. The company also designs advanced ship hullform structures. Plant Number 2, back in government hands, serves as a storage depot. The airport, since 1975 the property of the State of Maryland, is base for its Air National Guard and for general aviation. One of the hangers houses the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum, founded in 1990.