JBL: The Buzz on Lockheed Martin

The best perk of my job with the WWE is getting to spend Christmas every year in the Middle East with our great soldiers. Not only do I get the opportunity to tell these guys thanks, I also get a glimpse of how awesome our military actually is. As a side benefit, I also get a few investment ideas.

A couple of years ago, when I was in the Sunni Triangle in Iraq, a group of soldiers showed me an unmanned Predator drone airplane. I asked if I could see the control booth, and they told me that I would have to go to Las Vegas for that.

I realized very quickly how much warfare had changed since Audie Murphy became a hero and then a movie star. Here was the future of combat.

The drones are launched in theatre and then controlled once airborne from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada. When you hear about a terrorist in Iraq or Afghanistan being killed by a Hellfire missile fired from a drone, personnel in Nevada pulled the trigger. The drone has almost unlimited potential; these planes can fly into biologically or chemically contaminated areas without risking human life. This is a real-life video game.

Cream of the Crop

Two companies that already make drones are Boeing (BA) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Boeing will do well with the new federal budget. Just as important, it is rapidly catching up with Airbus with its next-generation 737. Northrop will also do well.

However, I believe Lockheed Martin (LMT) is the cream of the crop. And one of the main reasons is its decision to jump headlong into the world of drone aircraft.

To view JBL's video take of this column, click here.