Hughes Aircraft Company
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California,[1] as a division of Hughes Tool Company. The company was known for producing, among other products, the Hughes H-4 Hercules Spruce Goose aircraft, the atmospheric entry probe carried by the Galileo spacecraft, and the AIM-4 Falcon guided missile.[2][3]
![]() Hughes Aircraft Company logo, during most of the company's first 50 years | |
Industry | Aerospace and defense (Defense and Communications Electronics) |
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Founded | 1932Glendale, California | in
Founder | Howard Hughes |
Defunct | 1997 |
Fate | Sold to Raytheon |
Headquarters | , United States |
Revenue | $11B peak, 1986 |
Owner | Hughes Tool Company (1932) Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1953) General Motors Corp (1985) |
Number of employees | 84,000 peak, 1985 |
Hughes Aircraft was acquired by General Motors from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in 1985 and was put under the umbrella of Hughes Electronics, now known as DirecTV, until GM sold its assets to Raytheon in 1997.[4][5]