The United States has signed a deal worth more than three billion dollars with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to increase production of components for Patriot and THAAD interceptor missiles, as conflicts in Iran and Ukraine deplete stockpiles.
The Pentagon and Northrop announced the agreement today. It follows a contract signed last week worth 58.6 billion dollars, under which Lockheed was assigned production of Patriot interceptor missiles.
Stockpiles Under Strain
The US has supplied large quantities of weapons to its allies while also using munitions in the conflict with Iran, raising concerns over stockpiles of air defense and precision weapons. The Pentagon said the framework agreement would allow Patriot production to triple and THAAD production to quadruple.
The Washington based Center for Strategic and International Studies recently estimated the US military holds fewer than 1,000 Patriot interceptors and fewer than 250 THAAD interceptors, the two main air defense systems, both widely used in the Middle East.
Pressure on Contractors
Pentagon negotiators have pressed contractors to speed up earlier interim production deals made this year. Ukraine faces chronic Patriot shortages, its only weapon capable of downing ballistic missiles. The Pentagon said the deal would create a second source for PAC-3 solid fuel motors and increase production of ignition safety devices. The US has a similar framework deal with RTX, Raytheon's parent, to raise Tomahawk cruise missile output from about 60 a year to 1,000 annually long term.
