Skunk Works
Ben R. Rich led Lockheed's Skunk Works, the secret advanced engineering division that produced some of the most important aircraft of the Cold War. Writing with Leo Janos, he recounts his years there, including his central role in developing stealth technology and the F-117 Nighthawk, the first aircraft designed to evade radar. He also tells the stories of earlier projects like the U-2 spy plane and the SR-71 Blackbird, developed under his mentor Kelly Johnson. Rich explains how a small team working in secrecy, with minimal bureaucracy and tight budgets, repeatedly built breakthrough planes. The memoir mixes engineering detail with espionage, office politics, and Pentagon dealings, and it lays out the management philosophy that made the Skunk Works famous. It has become a favorite among engineers and fans of aviation history.
What you might want to know about Skunk Works
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Ben Rich tells the inside story of Lockheed's secret Skunk Works and the spy planes and stealth aircraft it built.
It is Lockheed's secretive advanced development division, famous for building aircraft like the U-2, SR-71 Blackbird, and F-117 stealth fighter.
Many cite its account of small, fast, low bureaucracy teams and Kelly Johnson's management rules as a model for innovation.
Skunk Works was written by Ben R. Rich, published in 1994 by Little, Brown and Company.
Skunk Works is 400 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Skunk Works takes most readers 6 to 9 hours to finish.
Skunk Works is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.