Lockheed Martin has secured a seven-year contract worth up to $35 billion to expand production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, a move aimed at reinforcing missile defense capability for the US and its allies.
THAAD is designed to interrupt missile attacks both inside and outside the atmosphere and is now operational in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Washington’s investment will increase the weapon’s output from approximately 96 missiles annually to as many as 400 per year, according to an earlier framework agreement signed in January.
The award ranks among the first large-scale multiyear procurements initiated under the Pentagon’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy, designed to accelerate weapons manufacturing and bolster America’s defense industrial base.
“This award reflects our shared vision with the Department of War to strengthen America’s Arsenal of Freedom through a transformational shift to multiyear procurement,” said Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
“This new approach propels our efforts to strengthen the defense industrial base, expand production and deliver capabilities to the American warfighter at unprecedented speed and scale.”
Growing Supply Chain Network
Lockheed’s contract follows a series of initiatives to increase munitions output, including a $4.7-billion award in April to accelerate PAC-3 MSE surface-to-air interceptor production and agreements supporting PrSM surface-to-surface missile manufacturing.
Part of those projects is the construction of a new ammunition plant facility in Alabama, executed under a broader $9-billion investment plan through 2030.
The company said the effort has already resulted in more than 20 new or upgraded facilities nationwide, including sites in Alabama and Arkansas.
