Patriot missile production to increase dramatically: US signs $58.6 billion contract with Lockheed Martin
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The US Department of Defense has awarded Lockheed Martin a multi-year contract to produce interceptor missiles for the Patriot air defense system. The maximum value of the deal is $58.6 billion.
Reuters reports this.
The Pentagon said the new contract expands a previous one-year, $4.7 billion deal signed in April, which has now been transformed into a seven-year project covering the procurement of Patriot interceptor missiles during fiscal years 2026-2032.
According to Bloomberg, the implementation of the contract will allow for a significant increase in production: if the company currently produces about 600 missiles per year, then by 2030 it plans to increase this figure to 2 thousand units annually.
The cost of one interceptor is estimated at approximately $4 million.
Lockheed Martin also announced an expansion of production. The company plans to hire 650 more workers at its Camden, Arkansas, facility, bringing the number of Patriot production line employees to 1,850.
This is the company’s second major multi-year agreement in the field of missile production.
Earlier,Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during a visit to Washington, asked US President Donald Trump to provide Ukraine with an emergency “winter package” of 300 Patriot interceptor missiles to strengthen the protection of energy infrastructure from Russian attacks.
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