Lockheed Martin Awarded $35 Billion for THAAD Missile Defense Interceptor Production

The U.S. government awarded Lockheed Martin  a seven-year contract for up to $35 billion to quadruple production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors.

The award is one of the first major multiyear procurement contracts executed under the Department of War's Acquisition Transformation Strategy and represents one of the first full-scale transitions from framework agreement to contract execution under the initiative.

The contract puts into action the THAAD framework agreement signed in January between the Department of War and Lockheed Martin, providing the long-term demand signal needed to accelerate production capacity, strengthen the defense industrial base and deliver critical missile defense capability at speed and scale for the U.S. and its allies.

The award comes weeks after Lockheed Martin broke ground on a new Munitions Production Center in Troy, Alabama, as part of the company's more than $9 billion investment through 2030. This investment is already delivering tangible results to meet heightened munitions demand, including more than 20 new or modernized facilities across the United States. Lockheed Martin also recently opened the Next Generation Interceptor facility in Courtland, Alabama, and the Munitions Acceleration Center in Camden, Arkansas.

THAAD air defense system was used extensively during Operation Epic Fury against Iran leading to depletion of interceptor stocks. While the number of interceptors expended has not been revealed, the financial scale of the contract -$35 billion gives an idea of the number of interceptors required going forward.