The US Defense Department has signed a framework deal with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to increase the production capacity of components for the Patriot PAC-3 and THAAD missile interceptor systems, it said on Monday.
Pentagon negotiators have pressed contractors to move much faster with tentative production agreements struck earlier this year to increase missile output as conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine strain US weapons stockpiles.
Multiple reports in the media have said that the US military’s weapons stockpiles have run low because of the wars in Ukraine and Iran.
Ukraine has been chronically run low on supplies of Patriots, the only weapon in its arsenal that can down ballistic missiles.
The US defense department said in its statement that the framework deal would allow production of Patriots to triple and THAAD systems to quadruple.
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It said the deal would establish a second source for PAC-3 solid rocket motors and ramp up output of ignition safety devices.
It follows a deal last week when the US Army awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth up to $58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.
Meanwhile, aerospace and defense company Northrop Grumman said that it has signed two multi-year framework agreements totalling over $3 billion to further power the arsenal of freedom. Working alongside the US Department of War and Lockheed Martin, the company is increasing production and accelerating delivery of critical munitions technologies and reinforcing the nation’s integrated air and missile defense.
Northrop Grumman will accelerate production of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) to meet the increasing global demand.
The company will supply essential components, including solid rocket motors and ignition safety devices, supporting the integrated air and missile defense.
It will also significantly increase monthly deliveries of THAAD components over seven years.
The production surge will provide the speed, volume and precision required for integrated air and missile defense as global demand for the PAC-3 MSE system reaches unprecedented levels, said the company.
