Dive Brief:
- L3Harris Technologies on Monday signed two seven-year contracts with the Department of Defense and Lockheed Martin to expand key component production for two weapons systems. An investment amount was not disclosed.
- Under one agreement, L3Harris will triple manufacturing of its propulsion products that support the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement system.
- The second agreement quadruples propulsion production for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system. Lockheed is the prime contractor for both weapons systems.
Dive Insight:
The deals build upon contracts awarded in the spring to Lockheed, Boeing and Honeywell Aerospace.
L3Harris produces the solid rocket boost motors that power the THAAD interceptor, which are made at its facilities in Huntsville, Alabama, and Camden, Arkansas, according to a data sheet.
The company also makes the Liquid Divert and Attitude Control Systems, a propulsion system that situates the THAAD interceptor to destroy an incoming ballistic missile. The LDACS are produced at L3Harris’ Los Angeles facility.
The PAC-3 is also a vital weapons system for the U.S. Army. In April, the agency awarded Lockheed Martin a $4.7 billion contract to ramp up production of the missile.
The PAC-3’s contract entails manufacturing the Attitude Control Motors and the Lethality Enhancer solid rocket motors.
The Lethality Enhancer is an “explosive device that increases the ground-based PAC-3’s kill radius against threats, including cruise missiles,” according to the press release.
Each PAC-3 is loaded with 180 Attitude Control Motors to “fire with precision to refine the missile’s course and ensure body-to-body impact flexibility,” according to a sell sheet.
L3Harris is investing billions of dollars across its portfolio to ramp up production. The company is building about 60 facilities and adding or upgrading nearly 1 million square feet of manufacturing and office space across its U.S. solid rocket motor sites, according to the press release.
In April, the defense contractor announced plans to spend $1.3 billion to establish an advanced propulsion campus in Virginia, which will provide mixing, grinding, casting and final assembly support for SRM production under multiple DOD programs.
The missile maker also plans to expand its PAC-3 manufacturing campus in Camden, Arkansas. The company broke ground on two buildings in June that will implement advanced manufacturing capabilities such as automated X-ray inspection systems that use artificial intelligence to detect defects.
The company is also investing in its supply chain to meet the Pentagon’s weapons demand. In May, L3Harris submitted an order to Polish defense company Wojskowe Zaklady Elektroniczne to manufacture attitude control motors for the Army’s PAC-3.
L3Harris entered a $1 billion agreement with DOD in January to launch a missile solutions business to increase capacity to build solid rocket motors. The deal closed on April 23. A week later, the company filed a draft registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in an effort to take its missile solutions business public. DOD pledged to back the new entity with $1 billion, which would be converted into stock once the missile solutions enterprise goes public.
The agreements come as U.S. forces face missile and drone systems shortage amid the Iran war. In June, President Donald Trump met with defense company executives, urging them to accelerate production as the U.S. weapons stockpile depletes, The New York Times reported.
The deals also follow the House of Representatives’ passage of the $1.15 trillion budget under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027. The bill has moved to the Senate floor for a vote.
