Hughes Aircraft Company
![](/Images/godic/202501/18/HughesAircraftCo1108.png")
![Hughes logo, adopted after the death of its founder](/Images/godic/202501/18/Hughes_Aircraft_after_death1109.png")
![Hughes H-1 Racer](/Images/godic/202501/18/HughesH1racer1109.JPG")
![Hughes H-4 Hercules.](/Images/godic/202501/18/H-4_Hercules_21109.jpg")
The Hughes Aircraft Company was a major American aerospace and defense contractor founded in 1932 by Howard Hughes in Glendale, California 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.