The United States has entered into a deal exceeding $3 billion with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to increase the manufacturing of Patriot and THAAD missile interceptors, due to strained stockpiles from conflicts in Iran and Ukraine. This announcement, made by the Pentagon and Northrop on Monday, follows a recent contract signed with Lockheed valued at up to $58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.
The U.S. has been providing extensive arms supplies to allies while also deploying munitions in Iran, raising concerns about the sufficiency of air defense systems and precision-guided weapons inventories. According to the Pentagon, this framework agreement aims to triple Patriot missile production and quadruple THAAD system outputs.
A recent estimate by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington, indicates that the U.S. military currently has fewer than 1,000 Patriot interceptors and under 250 THAAD interceptors, both of which are critical air defense systems heavily utilized in the Middle East.
Pentagon officials have been urging contractors to accelerate production, with earlier agreements this year aimed at increasing missile output. Ukraine, for its part, has faced significant shortages of Patriot systems, which remain its only missile defense capable of intercepting ballistic threats.
The Pentagon also announced that the new deal will establish a secondary source for PAC-3 solid rocket motors and increase the production of ignition safety devices. Additionally, the U.S. has a similar agreement with Raytheon’s parent company, RTX, to escalate Tomahawk missile production from about 60 per year to a target of 1,000 annually.