Maverick exceeded Mach 10 when he piloted a conceptual hypersonic aircraft, known as Darkstar, designed by the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works® team in the recent Top Gun: Maverick film. Darkstar’s capabilities met Maverick’s “need for speed,” pushing the boundaries of flight to support a critical mission. Darkstar joins many Lockheed Martin airplanes, satellites, and helicopters playing a supporting role in major motion pictures.
During the heyday of silent film, Glenn L. Martin received $300 a day for flying his Model T trainer in the 1915 movie The Girl From Yesterday. The film starred Mary Pickford, one of the largest stars of the time known as “America’s Sweetheart.”
The final scenes of 1942’s Best Picture winner, Casablanca, are quite possibly the most famous in all of filmdom. A large-scale model of the Lockheed Model 10 Electra plays a pivotal role as stars Victor and Ilsa Lund Laszlo flee to escape the Germans.
In the 1997 action thriller Air Force One, a family of Lockheed Martin mobility aircraft including a C-5, C-141 and MC-130 can be spotted at various points throughout the film.
From Iron Man to The Avengers, Lockheed Martin aircraft including the F-35, F-22, F-16 and SR-71 have starred on the screen next to superheroes.
Lockheed Martin’s partnership with Hollywood extends beyond Lockheed Martin systems playing a role in feature films.
During World War II, the movie studios in Hollywood, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Disney Studios, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount and Universal Pictures accepted the challenge to hide aircraft manufacturing plants, including the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation facility in Burbank, California.
The studios offered scenic designers, painters, art directors, landscape artists, animators, carpenters, lighting experts, and propmasters to camouflage the facilities from potential enemies flying overhead. Most of the work at the Lockheed plant was done by Disney artists, who also provided nose art for some aircraft prior to delivery.
Next time you are in theaters or watching your favorite show at home, keep your eye out for Lockheed Martin systems soaring on screen!
Born in Milan, Italy, Moreno moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His aviation passion began early, inspired by his uncle, an F-104 Starfighter Crew Chief, and his father, a military traffic controller. Childhood adventures included camping outside military bases and watching planes at Aeroporto Linate. In 1999, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to obtain his commercial pilot license, a move that became permanent. With 24 years in the U.S., he now flies full-time for a Part 91 business aviation company in Atlanta. He is actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force, the D-Day Squadron, and other aviation organizations. He enjoys life with his supportive wife and three wonderful children.
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