The Lockheed Martin legacy stretches back more than 100 years, demonstrating relentless resolve to overcome obstacles and take aviation to new technical heights. The company started out as a personal project in a repurposed church and a fledgling business in a garage. Now the Lockheed Martin network has international offices in 10 countries, facilitating partnerships and uniting top minds in pursuit of innovative excellence. At the “Lighthouse” — a 50,000-square-foot test centre and laboratory — skilled scientists and engineers collaborate to develop technological breakthroughs that are transforming the world. Lockheed Martin builds AI systems and autonomous machines that are deployed for increased national security and successful mission outcomes. It creates hypersonic solutions and multi-domain operational systems. Lockheed Martin launched the world’s first weather satellite in 1975 and continues to generate weather forecasts and warnings that are crucial to the global economy. The latest generation of weather satellites boast longer life spans, higher imaging resolution and a new lightning detection capability. Lockheed Martin is considered a pioneer of GPS (Global Positioning Systems) and recently joined the GPS Innovation Alliance, the US organisation that advocates the technology’s benefits and seeks to modernise the network. The group established Lockheed Martin Ventures to direct capital to companies developing disruptive tech in its core markets, investing more than $100m in start-up companies since 2007. Investee benefits go beyond an infusion of funds: founders enjoy access to the Lockheed Martin network of contacts and repository of knowledge. The CFI.co judging panel recognises industry titan Lockheed Martin with the 2020 award Most Innovative Next-Gen Technology Solutions (Global).