Army competition seeks interceptor for under $1 million
Lockheed Martin said it will field a new, cheaper Patriot missile model that can be produced faster as global stockpiles of high-end interceptors dwindle.
The company said its new Patriot missile model will cost buyers less than half as much as its bestselling Missile Segment Enhancement version, which recent Army budget documents show costs more than $4 million a round. Lockheed plans to showcase the new design Monday at the Farnborough International Airshow, where military equipment has drawn increasing attention alongside commercial aircraft.
The new missile is designed to counter cruise missiles as well as close-range and short-range ballistic missiles, Lockheed said.
The announcement comes as Lockheed and RTX, which manufactures the Patriot launcher system, have pledged to meet White House demands to triple or quadruple output of some high-tech missiles over the coming years. Military officials have said the U.S. also needs more low-cost and mid-range defenses that can be delivered in months rather than years.
The current PAC-3 interceptor was not designed with ease of manufacturing as a priority, Army procurement official Brent Ingraham said at a recent industry event. He pointed to its “hand-fabricated, hand-assembled pieces” rather than the advanced automated machinery seen in automotive manufacturing.
U.S. Army officials this year launched a separate competition to develop a lower-cost interceptor that could be produced for less than $1 million a round. The effort calls for a blank-slate design, accepting new configurations for seekers, rocket motors and other major components, assembled into a missile that can still be fired from existing Patriot launchers.