Dive Brief:
- Lockheed Martin awarded Boeing a contract valued at $14.7 billion to scale seeker production for the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement, according to a press release on Monday.
- The seven-year agreement will allow Boeing to triple production, supporting the Department of Defense’s Arsenal of Freedom, an effort to rebuild the defense industrial base under the agency’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy.
- The deal also supports Boeing’s seven-year contract the weapons maker signed in April with DOD to ramp up production of PAC-3 seekers to meet global demand. It also builds on Lockheed’s initial DOD agreement it formalized in January. Both deals were made prior to news that the U.S. is depleting its weapons stockpile.
Dive Insight:
Some terms in the contract have yet to be finalized, which allows Boeing to continue scaling seeker production, a company spokesperson said in an email. The deal falls under a undefinitized contract action, which grants a company to begin a service despite the terms, specifications or price not being formalized, according to the federal government’s Acquisition website.
The PAC-3 MSE interceptors identify, track and “defeat advanced threats ranging from hostile aircraft and hypersonics to ballistic and cruise missiles,” according to Boeing’s press release. The weapon system also “delivers a highly reactive hit-to-kill capability at both range and altitude in any environment,” according to the PAC-3 product card.
The PAC-3 MSE has a range of 30 kilometers — or about 19 miles — against a ballistic missile, according to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance.
Boeing’s latest agreement supports Lockheed’s $4.7 billion undefinitized contract action signed in April to back accelerating PAC-3 production for the U.S. Army, which is a “vital component” of the military branch’s air and missile “defense architecture.”
“Early investment and a relentless focus on quality and execution have positioned us to now deliver seekers at unprecedented levels in the near-term, and we’re committed to building on that momentum,” Steve Parker, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said in a statement.
Boeing has invested over $200 million to upgrade and expand its manufacturing site in Huntsville, Alabama, since 2024, according to the press release. The company put the money toward a 35,000-square-foot facility expansion, workforce development, improving its domestic supply chain and maintaining safety and “first-time quality,” the Boeing spokesperson said.
The aerospace and defense titan has begun ramping up seeker production as well as hiring to support the new agreement. The spokesperson declined to disclose further hiring details.
Boeing’s new contract is the latest the company has nabbed over the past week. The U.S. Navy awarded Boeing a contract for its sixth generation F/A-XX Strike Fighter aircraft for the military branch’s Next Generation Air Dominance program valued at over $20 billion.
Boeing is also the latest subcontractor Lockheed has awarded across its PAC-3 MSE supply chain. In July, Lockheed granted L3Harris Technologies an agreement to triple production of its propulsion products that support the PAC-3 MSE. The contract value was not disclosed.
