Lockheed Martin CEO says company growth is strong amid unrest worldwide
Marilyn Hewson, CEO of Bethesda-based defense contractor Lockheed Martin, said Tuesday the company is developing new hypersonic aircraft and is poised for growth after a strong performance in 2015. Hewson said the company believes Western countries will continue to face threats from violent extremists and “we want to remain well-positioned to help them address these unprecedented challenges,” according to a transcript of her remarks given during the company’s annual media day. She said the U.S. defense budget has stabilized, adding predictability to the company’s business outlook.
Hewson identified international customers as the major growth area for the company. She said Russia’s expanded military presence has led NATO to fortify its defense measures in Europe and European countries such as Germany to invest in Lockheed’s aircraft and missile defense systems.
The company’s $9 billion purchase of Sikorsky Aircraft last year helped to strengthen Lockheed’s aircraft business and enabled it to expand into new markets, according to Hewson. She said this year the company will increase its research and development funding to $839 million and spoke about the development of hypersonic aircraft. The advanced planes are capable of traveling at more than five times the speed of sound and Hewson said they will be key to allowing “quicker response times to increasingly mobile threats, and the ability to project strength more rapidly around the globe.”
Hewson said advances on hypersonic plane prototypes such as the HTV-3x could one day lead to the production of hypersonic aircraft that could cost less than $1 billion to produce each, easier access to space and hypersonic passenger flights.
“While we can’t tell you with absolute certainly what the future will hold,” Hewson said, “I’m confident we are better positioned than ever to meet the challenges and opportunities it presents.”
Gaithersburg military-inspired fitness company among finalists for Small Business of the Year Award
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Wednesday named Gaithersburg-based Soldierfit as one of seven regional finalists for the 2016 Small Business of the Year Award. The company offers more than 440 fitness classes per month at its four locations. It specializes in intense boot-camp-like workouts modeled after military training methods. The company founded by U.S. Army veterans Dave Posin and Danny Farrar got its start renting out space for classes from area gyms in 2011 and has since expanded by opening its own gyms in Gaithersburg, Frederick, Columbia and Sterling, Virginia. It also has added franchise opportunities.
Soldierfit is the East regional finalist for the small business award and is competing against six other small businesses from around the country for a $100,000 cash prize. The winner will be announced during the chamber’s small business summit, which takes place from June 13–15 in Washington, D.C.
Silver Spring named to list of urban districts “exploding with character”
The travel website Tripadvisor this month named downtown Silver Spring as one of 11 vibrant and diverse urban districts in the country. The website’s blog wrote that the city offers a great change of pace for those visiting Washington, D.C., and that it is “charming, cultured and musically inspired.” Silver Spring was joined on the list by districts including the West Loop neighborhood in Chicago, the Lower Garden District in New Orleans, Thornton Park in Orlando, Florida, and the Downtown Arts District in Los Angeles, among others.
