Pentagon signs deal to expand missile interceptor systems production

News Pentagon signs deal to expand missile interceptor systems production Comments: by Filip Timotija - 08/04/26 7:04 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Filip Timotija - 08/04/26 7:04 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Pentagon signs deal to expand missile interceptor component production

The Pentagon announced on Monday that it signed framework agreements with defense contractors Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin to boost production of missile interceptor parts.

AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

The agreement will allow the production of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) to triple and quadruple, the Pentagon said.

“Building the Arsenal of Freedom requires robust, dynamic supply chains at every level of the industrial base,” Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, said in a statement. “Framework agreements with munition components suppliers like Northrop Grumman are vital to accelerating the tripling of PAC-3 and quadrupling of THAAD interceptor production.”

The announcement comes as the U.S. military has used up close to 80 THAAD missile inventory and about half of its Patriot interceptors since the war with Iran began, CNN reported on Tuesday.

The military had around 452 THAAD missiles in its inventory and about 2,200 Patriot missiles, a Center for Strategic and International Studies report previously said. “America’s military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the President’s choosing,” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told CNN. “We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests,” Parnell said.

The high usage of interceptors during the conflict with Iran has raised concerns about the readiness of the military to shoot down incoming threats if wars in other parts of the world break out.

“Our long-term investments in breakthrough manufacturing technologies and resilient supply chains let us pivot from steady production to a production surge in record time,” Ben Davies, corporate vice president at Northrop Grumman, said in a statement. “As one of America’s leading producers of solid rocket motors, we’re supporting the administration’s push to accelerate munitions output.

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