The [[Lockheed Aircraft Company]] is an [[USA|American]] aerospace manufacturer that developed advanced military aircraft and became involved in a bribe scandal affecting [[Israel|Israeli]] politics. ### U-2 Spy Plane Development Lockheed built the revolutionary [[U-2 Spy Plane]] under cover in Burbank, California. This aircraft was capable of flying and gliding for almost eleven hours at heights greater than 65,000 feet, covering more than five thousand miles, while utilizing only one thousand gallons of fuel. Special lenses, cameras, and thin film were developed for the U-2, enabling it to photograph a path from [[Moscow]] to [[Tashkent]] in one take.[^2] ### Israeli Bribery Scandal In 1976, a telegram intercepted by [[Unit 8200]] revealed details of bribes paid by a [[Lockheed Aircraft Company|Lockheed]] representative in [[Israel]] to Defense Minister [[Shimon Peres]]. The sum involved was $3.5 million, deposited in one of [[Shimon Peres|Peres's]] brother's business accounts in [[Europe]]. This information, discovered by [[Ari Ben-Menashe]], was subsequently covered up by [[Israel|Israeli]] military intelligence superiors, including [[Yoel Ben-Porat|Col. Ben-Porat]] and [[Sasson Yishaek|Lt. Col. Yishaek]].[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Ben-Menashe, Ari. _Profits of War: Inside the Secret U.S.-Israeli Arms Network_. TrineDay, 1992. (Hereafter, "Profits of War") [^2]: Hersh, Seymour M. _The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy_. Random House, 1991. Chapter 4.