UPDATED: L3Harris, Lockheed Martin to Ramp Up PAC-3 and THAAD Missile Production in East Camden

By Wesley Brown, Arkansas Delta Informer Editor

July 27, 2026 — L3Harris Technologies on Monday signed framework agreements with the Department of War and defense contracting giant Lockheed Martin to accelerate production for the PAC-3 and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) production systems amid the Pentagon efforts to restock critical weapons stockpiles.

L3Harris called the multi-year PAC-3 deal a “landmark step” that represents a dramatic acceleration in America’s ability to surge critical munitions production—fortifying the nation’s Arsenal of Freedom and ensuring its warfighters remain equipped with the ability to project unmatched power whenever and wherever needed.

As L3Harris’ largest PAC-3 propulsion agreement to date, it will allow the company to nearly triple production for a range of propulsion products supporting the PAC-3 MSE interceptor. The contract is expected to be definitized later this year.

“This critical, long-term agreement will allow us to continue to move at unprecedented speed and produce PAC-3 propulsion at rates never before seen,” said Ken Bedingfield, President of L3Harris’s Missile Solutions division.   “We are actively preparing our facilities and our suppliers to meet the required ramp as well as introducing additional capacity to support future needs of the DoW and our allies and strengthen the Arsenal of Freedom.”

“Rebuilding the Arsenal of Freedom requires moving with speed and precision to scale the production of critical munitions,” said Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment. “Today’s agreements with L3Harris are a decisive win for the Warfighter, underscoring our commitment to sending clear demand signals to the entire supply chain.”

Produced at the Highland Industrial Park in East Camden, Ark., L3Harris’s PAC-3 MSE motor manufacturing facility in Calhoun County includes dedicated processing bays with improved throughput and automated digital X-ray equipment, which has lowered inspection and cycle times. 

The seven-year framework includes production of the PAC-3 MSE’s advanced, two-pulse solid rocket motor; Attitude Control Motors (ACMs); and the Lethality Enhancer. The Lethality Enhancer is an explosive device that increases the ground-based PAC-3’s kill radius against threats, including cruise missiles.

In January, the Department of War signed the original landmark framework agreement with Lockheed Martin to dramatically accelerate production of the PAC-3 MSE interceptor. The deal, part of the Pentagon’s new Acquisition Transformation Strategy, will see annual output of the advanced missile more than triple—from approximately 600 to 2,000 units over the next seven years.

The PAC-3 MSE, a critical component of America’s missile defense architecture, is produced at Lockheed Martin’s Highland Industrial Park in East Camden and Calhoun County.

The agreement is a direct result of the Department of Defense’s push to modernize acquisition processes, providing industry partners with long-term demand certainty. This new model incentivizes industrial investment, increases production rates, and improves operational efficiency. Lockheed Martin’s Camden operation, which delivered 620 PAC-3 MSEs in 2025—a 20% increase over the previous year—will be at the forefront of this expansion.

“This first-of-its-kind approach builds on years of advocacy and collaboration to bring commercial practices to major acquisition programs,” said Lockheed Martin Chairman, President and CEO Jim Taiclet. “We will create unprecedented capacity for PAC-3 MSE production, delivering at the speed our nation and allies demand while providing value for taxpayers and our shareholders.”

The surge in PAC-3 MSE production is expected to add thousands of new jobs across the supply chain, with Camden’s Highland Industrial Park poised to benefit significantly. The agreement strengthens the resilience of the U.S. defense industrial base, enabling long-term supplier investment and predictable demand signals that support sustained production.

As global demand for advanced missile defense systems continues to rise with the ongoing conflicts in Iran and Ukraine, the Pentagon’s partnership with Lockheed Martin ensures that U.S. forces, allies, and partner nations will have access to the PAC-3 MSE at the speed and scale required by today’s security environment. efficiencies.

Similarly, the multi-year contract to quadruple propulsion production of THAAD’s Solid Rocket Boost Motors (SRBMs) and Liquid Divert and Attitude Control Systems (LDACS) for the DoW’s Missile Defense Agency. The contract will span seven years and will be the largest THAAD propulsion award L3Harris has received to date. The contract is expected to be definitized later this year.

THAAD can intercept threats both within and outside the Earth’s atmosphere, providing a vital capability for defense against ballistic missile attacks. As one of the nation’s primary defenses against short, medium and intermediate-range missiles, THAAD is a combat-proven system which has achieved a 100% success rate in intercept tests since production began.

L3Harris said it is delivering on or ahead of schedule for LDACS and SRBMs. The company manufactures THAAD SRBMs at its facilities in Huntsville, Ala., and East Camden. LDACS, manufactured at the company’s Los Angeles site, is a highly responsive thruster system that keeps THAAD’s kinetic kill vehicle on target during the later stages of an intercept.

In addition, the DoW’s Munitions Acceleration Council has identified several key programs powered by L3Harris propulsion, including THAAD, for capacity expansion. L3Harris said it is answering the DoW’s call to speed production of critical munitions, investing billions for constructing more 60 facilities and adding or upgrading nearly 1 million square feet of manufacturing and office space across the company’s solid rocket motor production sites in Alabama, Virginia and Arkansas.

“The agreement builds upon our ongoing investments to build new facilities, incorporate modern manufacturing practices and bolster our suppliers to ensure we can support the critical systems that protect our nation and allies,” said Bedingfield.

According to defense industry analysts, U.S. stockpiles of PAC‑3 MSE interceptors, Precision Strike Missiles (PrSM), and THAAD interceptors have been severely depleted during the Iran and Ukraine wars, creating a multi‑year replenishment challenge.

In response, the Trump administration and the Department of War have signed several key framework agreements with leading defense contractors and have taken the unusual step of acquiring stakes in publicly traded companies, including L3Harris.

In April, L3Harris closed a $1 billion strategic investment from the Department of War (DoW) that will allow the Florida defense contractor to spin off its recently acquired Missile Solutions (MSL) business, including its Aerojet Rocketdyne subsidiary, purchased only three years ago.

The Melbourne, Fla.-based defense giant said it will use the proceeds from the Pentagon stock sale to expand and modernize its MSL facilities, accelerate research and development, and increase production capacity for critical national security technologies.

The DoW investment, along with proceeds from a future initial public offering (IPO) and other sources of capital, will be used to further a variety of expansion and modernization efforts at solid rocket motor production facilities in Camden, Ark.; Huntsville, Ala.; and Orange, Va.

After the original deal was announced in January, L3Harris said it intends to pursue the IPO in the second half of 2026, creating a newly traded public company “focused on delivering critical propulsion systems at unprecedented speed and scale.”

Since acquiring U.S. rocket motor maker Aerojet Rocketdyne in July 2023 for $4.7 billion, L3Harris said it has made significant investments to transform and expand its production operations. That includes creating newly formed MSL business to house most of the Aerojet Rocketdyne assets and bringing together all the company’s capabilities to support offensive and defensive missile systems.

L3Harris, one of Lockheed Martin’s key subcontractors, said it is investing billions to transform and grow its production operations at MSL in support of DoW priorities like PAC-3, THAAD, Tomahawk, the Precision Strike (PrSMs) and Standard Missiles. MSL was created in early 2026, bringing together missile capabilities from across L3Harris, including Aerojet Rocketdyne’s legacy operations.

In early trading on Monday, L3Harris shares were up 54 cents at $300.21. The Florida-based defense contractor is expected to release its second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, July 29, before the opening bell.

Last week, stocks of Lockheed Martin and RTX Corp. jumped substantially today as the two defense giants and tenants at the Highland Industrial Park in East Camden easily beat Wall Street second-quarter expectations.

The improved sales and profits led Lockheed and RTX to raise their full-year sales and profit outlook for the remainder of 2026, which means that production at the companies’ respective facilities in Calhoun County will continue to ramp up production and delivery of key Department of War weapons and missiles.

According to military and defense industry analysts, recent U.S. military operations — particularly Operation Epic Fury in the Iran conflict and Patriot missile shipments to Ukraine — have significantly strained U.S. weapons stockpiles, raising concerns about readiness for future conflicts.