The Pentagon has reached an agreement with Lockheed Martin to increase manufacturing of the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptor to over 2,000 a year, more than tripling its current production rate.
“We will create unprecedented capacity for PAC-3 MSE production, delivering at the speed our nation and allies demand while providing value for taxpayers and our shareholders,” Jim Taiclet, Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and CEO, stated in a release.
The seven-year agreement, which is currently in its framework stages pending an initial contract award, follows the Defense Department’s new Acquisition Transformation Strategy to secure long-term investments with industry partners while boosting production rates.
“Speed and a focus on outcomes are fundamental to successful deterrents,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in an address last November at the National War College, in which he announced plans to overhaul defense acquisition processes. “Our military and our taxpayers need a defense industrial base that it can count on to scale with urgency in a crisis, not one that is content to wait for money before taking urgent action,” he said.
As part of the new agreement, the Pentagon aims to seal seven-year subcontracts with Lockheed suppliers to ensure that funding and production are streamlined, according to a release.
The PAC-3 is an interceptor missile engineered to strike and destroy inbound adversary missiles, including tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. The MSE variant is equipped with a two-pulse rocket motor that increases its ability to strike incoming enemy missiles at extended ranges and high altitudes.
Demand for more interceptor missiles comes as the Pentagon is working to construct the Golden Dome missile defense system, which aims to protect U.S. territory from missiles fired by overseas adversaries using layered defense systems. It also follows an increased drive by NATO allies and international partners to boost their own air defense capabilities, with the U.S. increasing sales of AMRAAM missiles — also used as ground-launched interceptors — last August.
Production of the PAC-3 MSE rose last year by over 20%, according to Lockheed, which also noted that the interceptor missiles will supply U.S. military forces as well as international allies.
Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.
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