Pentagon signs deals with Northrop Grumman to boost PAC-3, THAAD component production

The US Defense Department on Monday said that it signed agreements with Northrop Grumman, in coordination with Lockheed Martin, to expand production capacity of critical missile-interceptor components.

"These historic agreements are critical to ensuring long-term demand signals flow to key suppliers, allowing Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) production to triple and quadruple, respectively," the department said in a statement.

Pentagon said the effort aims to strengthen interceptor supply chains, speed up deliveries, and bolster US air and missile defense.

"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 the 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.”

For the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), the agreements establish a second source for solid rocket motors, a move the department said would improve supply chain resilience and competition. The deal also increases production of ignition safety devices used in PAC-3 interceptors.

For the THAAD program, the agreements call for a fourfold increase in production of interceptor structural components, including mid-body shells, muzzle covers and rail car assemblies.