L3Harris will triple production of PAC-3 (Patriot Advanced Capability-3) missile system components under a new seven-year deal with the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin.
L3Harris builds the main dual-pulse solid rocket motor for the modernised PAC-3 MSE (Missile Segment Enhancement) Patriot surface-to-air missiles and other components.
Last month it broke ground in Arkansas as it scrambles to boost production capacity at its Arkansas Advanced Propulsion Facilities (AAPF) campus in Camden, United States.
Defense analysis, military procurement data, and think tank reports suggest that demand for Patriot missiles has massively existing outpaced production capacity. Transfers to Ukraine, high-intensity air defense operations in the Middle East, and massive backlog orders from foreign military allies have drawn US inventories down significantly.
“This critical, long-term agreement will allow us to… produce PAC-3 propulsion at rates never before seen,” said Ken Bedingfield, President, Missile Solutions, L3Harris. The deal will help it “surge” critical munitions productions, the firm added on July 27, without putting a hard number on total target production capacity over the frameworks’ years.
L3Harris said that the new 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; a munition that boosts Patriots’ “kill radius” against the likes of cruise missiles.
L3Harris says it has overhauled its existing Arkansas facilities to feature processing bays with improved throughput and automated X-ray equipment to cut inspection times.
PAC-3 MSE production has not, thus far, been a volume play: Lockheed Martin boasted just 24 months ago that by the end of 2024 “we will have exceeded 500 PAC-3 MSEs, a new production high.” Each missile costs taxpayers’ approximately $4-$5 million.
