WASHINGTON — The Missile Defense Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a $35 billion contract action to increase production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors from 96 to 400 units annually over a seven-year period, the company and Defense Department announced.
The contract formalizes a framework agreement Lockheed Martin established with the DoD in January. The production surge will enable annual output to reach 400 interceptors, representing a significant expansion of manufacturing capacity.
“This award reflects our shared vision with the Department of Defense 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 accelerates our efforts to strengthen the defense industrial base, expand production and deliver capabilities to the warfighter at unprecedented speed and scale.”
This contract follows Lockheed Martin’s $4.7 billion contract action in April to increase PAC-3 MSE production and a March agreement for Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) ramp-up.
Work will be performed at Lockheed facilities in Dallas, Texas; Sunnyvale, California; Troy, Alabama; and Camden, Arkansas. Last month, Lockheed broke ground on a new 87,000-square-foot production facility in Troy named “Building 47,” potentially referencing President Trump’s 47th presidency.
The Trump administration has been pursuing strategies to boost munitions production to replenish stockpiles depleted by operations against Iran. These efforts include invoking the Defense Production Act to enhance supplier capacity, according to Assistant Secretary of Defense Michael Cadenazzi.
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