*Note: This story and more can be founded in the 2025 Progress Magazine, available now. 

Lockheed Martin is one of the world’s largest defense and aerospace manufacturers and its Pike County Operations Facility is where final assembly of missiles considered to be among the most important to America’s national defense takes place. 

Lockheed Martin first came to Pike County in 1994 and since that time has expanded its campus in the county a number of times. In 2014, the company expanded with a $65 million project. AIDT also opened an Advanced Training Center to help with workforce development at Lockheed Martin in 2017. In 2019, Lockheed Martin further expanded the Pike County campus.

The Troy facility now employs nearly 750 individuals and sits on 4,000 acres with 52 buildings spread across the campus. It’s there where the final assembly of missiles, including those like the Javelin Missile, are assembled. 

More than 212,000 missiles have been produced at the Pike County facility, including the Javelin, THAAD, JASSM, Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, Joint Air-to-Ground Missile, HELLFIRE and Air Dominance Weapons Systems. 

In addition to the jobs and tax benefits Lockheed Martin brings to the area, the company has also partnered with surrounding high schools to develop its Lockheed Martin Manufacturing 101 program to help prepare high school students for careers with Lockheed Martin. 

The program initially began in 2017 at Charles Henderson High School. The program gives students the opportunity to use the tools and methods that are used on the manufacturing floor in a classroom setting. These skills can also translate into job readiness in any manufacturing environment. 

Lockheed Martin has on-boarded a number of employees that went through the program. In 2023, Lockheed Martin expanded the program to include five additional high schools in the surrounding area. In 2024, the program graduated 26 students from local high schools with seven entering a training program for the chance at future employment at Lockheed Martin.

“Pike County is a great location filled with talented, hardworking individuals who have helped Lockheed Martin support our customers’ missions since the facility opened in 1994,” Lockheed Martin Pike County Operations Site Director Steven Frailey said. “On average, each employee in Troy has over seven years of service with the company and 13 percent of employees have a military background.

“Our skilled workforce has been built through strong and strategic community partnerships including those with Alabama Industrial Training (AIDT), Troy University, Auburn University and local high schools, such as Charles Henderson High School, Pike County High School and Crenshaw County Schools. As the demand for our innovative solutions continues to rise and our sites continue to expand, it is critical for us to continue to develop the next generation of manufacturing technologists. That’s why we’re committed to investing and engaging in local initiatives that create lasting impact. In 2023, over $66,000 was donated to local Troy schools and non-profit organizations.”

Frailey called working at the Pike County facility the highlight of his career.

“This site and this city immediately accepted my family and me from the moment we arrived,” Frailey said. “For that, I am forever grateful. This team and community have been like a second family to me. My family and I are better people for having been part of this community and the Lockheed Martin Pike County Operations team. Serving as the Troy Site Director has been the highlight of my career.”