Lockheed Martin to quadruple THAAD anti-missile interceptor production
Israel’s closest parallel to the THAAD is the Arrow anti-missile system, but the systems employ different defensive capabilities.
Lockheed Martin has signed a framework agreement with the US Department of War to quadruple the production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile interceptors from 96 to 400 per year, it said Thursday.
The announcement comes as the United States has moved vast military forces into the Middle East for a potential war with Iran. It provides a rare look into the capacity of interceptor production at a moment when the US and Israel both used up many of them in three rounds of conflict with Iran in 2024-2025.
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In addition, the framework “builds on the first-of-its-kind agreement signed between the parties earlier this month to accelerate production of PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors,” Lockheed said.
Lockheed’s systems are part of America’s multilayered approach, including Patriot and Aegis missile-defense systems.
Israel’s closest parallel to the THAAD is the Arrow anti-missile system, but the systems employ different defensive capabilities.
In support of its production ramp activities, Lockheed said it would “break ground today on a new Munitions Acceleration Center in Camden, [Arkansas]. This world-class facility will prepare the workforce of the future to build THAAD, PAC-3 and other capabilities using advanced manufacturing, robotics and digital technologies.”
The new agreement is expected to run for the next seven years and to be finalized as part of the US Congress’s 2025 appropriations process.
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