BUSINESS & ECONOMIC DEV.
economic development law that will
be integral to our potential expansion
of operations at our Marietta facility
in support of critical national security
work for our government customers,”
Fuller said. “SB 6 could be a critical
enabler of high paying, high technology
jobs and advance Georgia’s leadership in
72 FACTBOOK | 2022
the aerospace and defense industry.”
The defense department is expected
to begin looking for companies to build
the first of the three jets later this year,
Reeves said. He expects Lockheed to
compete for rights to build all three, and
each could bring thousands of lucrative
jobs to Cobb County.
In the meantime, Lockheed Marietta
continues its work on the C-130J, also
known as the Hercules.
About half of the plant’s employees work
on the Hercules, and the facility is occasionally
referred to as “Hercules Country.”
The C-130J Super Hercules is a
multi-purpose aircraft capable of carrying
up to 23 tons of cargo. It can travel
over 3,000 miles and operate even off of
remote dirt landing strips, according to
Lockheed. Variants of C-130Js are used
for purposes including transporting
troops and combat equipment, aerial
and ground refueling, search and rescue,
special operations, aerial firefighting
and flying hospitals.
Business in the Hercules is booming.
In 2020, the U.S. Air Force awarded
Lockheed Martin a contract that could
be worth up to $15 billion for C-130J
Super Hercules aircraft.
Toward the end of the year, it was
announced Lockheed’s Marietta plant
would produce at least 24 C-130J Hercules
aircraft for Air National Guard
units in Texas, Kentucky and West Virginia,
to be delivered beginning in 2021.
Approximately 550 employees work
directly or support Lockheed’s F-35
Center Wing Assembly production,
according to Fuller.
Other employees support the company’s
F-22 and C-5M Super Galaxy planes
or work for other Lockheed programs
such as the secretive Skunk Works team
or corporate affairs. The Marietta site
also features the Hercules Training
Center, a military and commercial flight
training program.
FACTBOX
Lockheed in Marietta
Opened: January 1951
General manager: Rod McLean
Employees: ~5,000
Employees working on the
C-130J Super Hercules: ~2,500
Hercules built: 2,600+
Other aircraft produced or modified:
C-130 Hercules, F-35 Lightning II,
B-29 Superfortress, B-47 Stratojet,
LASA-60 Santa Maria, Jetstar, XV-4 Hummingbird,
C-141 Starlifter, C-5A Galaxy,
C-5M Super Galaxy, F-22 Raptor, P-3 Orion
Facility size: 8 million square feet
Number of Georgia-based suppliers: 400+
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