TROY, Alabama, May 21, 2026, 18:02 CDT
- Lockheed Martin broke ground on an 87,000-square-foot munitions center in Troy, Alabama, to expand THAAD interceptor work and prepare for Next Generation Interceptor production.
- The move comes as U.S. defense officials press contractors to raise missile output after recent drawdowns and fresh framework agreements across the weapons industry.
Lockheed Martin broke ground on a new munitions plant in Alabama on Thursday, turning part of a planned $9 billion production push into concrete work as Washington seeks more air-defense missiles for the United States and its allies.
The 87,000-square-foot facility, known as Building 47, will support production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptors and future work on the Next Generation Interceptor, a newer missile-defense system aimed at long-range ballistic threats. Lockheed said the project will nearly double production space at its Troy campus.
It matters now because missile inventories have become a front-line issue, not just a budget line. Reuters reported in March that the Pentagon had reached framework agreements with BAE Systems, Lockheed and Honeywell to boost munitions output as it pushed the U.S. military toward what officials called a “wartime footing.” Reuters
The new plant is part of Lockheed’s broader plan to invest more than $9 billion through 2030 to scale munitions production and upgrade or build more than 20 U.S. facilities. The company said the Alabama expansion would add jobs over the next three years, on top of almost 4,000 Lockheed employees already in the state.
“Lockheed Martin is ready now,” Chief Executive Jim Taiclet said, adding that the company had put “well over a billion dollars” into the expansion. Michael Duffey, under secretary of war for acquisition and sustainment, said the partnership was “critical to surging” munitions capacity. Investing News Network (INN)
Reuters separately reported that about $1.25 billion had already been spent ahead of contract finalization. Duffey, who attended the ceremony, said multiyear procurement deals give companies more certainty to invest; “talk becomes action,” he said. Reuters
THAAD is designed to intercept ballistic missiles in their final stage of flight, either inside or outside the atmosphere. Lockheed said the system is operated by the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, and is integrated with the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptor used in the Patriot air-defense system.
The ramp-up reaches beyond THAAD. Lockheed has agreed to raise annual THAAD interceptor production to 400 from 96, more than triple Patriot PAC-3 output to 2,000 a year, and quadruple Precision Strike Missile production, Reuters reported.
Lockheed also launched a supplier conference series this month, with more than 150 suppliers gathering in Dallas for talks on faster production of PAC-3 MSE, THAAD and Precision Strike Missile systems. Defence Industry Europe reported that the meetings are expected to continue monthly, in person and online.
The competitive field is tight, but not identical. BAE Systems makes THAAD seekers, the sensors that help guide interceptors toward incoming missiles, while Northrop Grumman and RTX had previously competed against Lockheed on the Next Generation Interceptor program before the Missile Defense Agency selected Lockheed to continue development in 2024.
The risk is timing. New factories do not produce missiles overnight, and Lockheed’s own schedule points to jobs and added capacity over several years; contract awards, congressional funding and supplier output still have to line up. A recent Washington Post report, citing Defense Department assessments, said U.S. use of high-end interceptors in the Israel-Iran conflict had sharpened concerns about missile-defense stocks, with Stimson Center analyst Kelly Grieco calling the numbers “striking.” The Washington Post
Lockheed shares were little changed in late trading on Thursday at $522.79, while RTX rose and Northrop Grumman slipped slightly, according to market data. The muted move suggested investors had largely priced in the direction of travel: more demand for missiles, but a production race that will take time.
