Lockheed Martin’s legacy in developing operational intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) officially began in 1955 when the U.S. Air Force awarded the contract for the Atlas ICBM. The Atlas D missile went on alert Oct. 31, 1959, becoming the first-ever operational ICBM. Lockheed Martin has continuously supported the Air Force’s ICBM mission since the beginning, as the developer of the Atlas, Titan, MX Peacekeeper and Small ICBMs, and as the leading provider of reentry systems for multiple ICBM generations and of ground command and control systems for today’s Minuteman III. Lockheed Martin’s 50-year-plus ICBM heritage includes delivering more than 700 missiles and more than 3,000 reentry vehicles to the Air Force.
