The U.S. Army has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to expand the production capacity of the Patriot Advanced Capability – 3 Missile Segment Enhancements (PAC-3 MSE), with plans to produce up to 650 missiles annually, according to a company press release.
The contract reflects efforts to meet the increasing global demand for this advanced missile system.
“Demand for PAC-3 MSE’s combat-proven deterrence capabilities continues to grow at a rapid pace,” said Brian Kubik, Vice President of PAC-3 Programmes at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control.
He explained that Lockheed Martin began expanding production capacity over a year ago, using internal funding to invest in its factories and supply chain while also adopting lean and agile processes to enhance efficiency.
The company has achieved substantial growth in PAC-3 MSE output, reporting a 30% increase in production in 2024 and projecting an additional 20% growth for 2025. By the end of this year, Lockheed Martin expects to produce more than 500 missiles annually, setting a new record for the programme.
Additionally, the team recently celebrated the production of its 2,000th PAC-3 MSE missile, a significant milestone in the system’s history.
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If not SAMP/T or CAMM is this system something the UK could adopt at short notice if needed for commonality with the US and other allies? I believe Patriot is also mk41 compatible which sounds useful. But i think we all would have a preference for UK/European first up and supporting UK industry.
The infrastructure is already there for CAMM, and if CAMM-MR is introduced soon there should be no need for Patriot, being not dissimilar in their range and role.
CAMM is a lot cheaper and UKIP.
As it is a Polish/UK Collaboration with Italy on the booster stage it will happen.
650 milled per year isn’t a lot in a war fighting scenario when you’d be expending that in a week! Not a lot of use as a sole global source of supply. We all know what happened to PPE in COVID so we know why sovereign production is golden.
Agreed.
Patriot isn’t cheap either, I think the rounds are $1-3M a pop depending on type. I may be wrong, but CAMM isn’t anywhere near that, and would expect that bolting a bigger booster onto it won’t increase the cost that much; the pricey bits are the seeker and the rest of the final stage bit, if I understand correctly.
*650 manufactured per year
The route for the UK is to support and buy local for those items/assets that would be more quickly expended.
CAMM etc are such assets and as such need to be nurtured and protected to ensure we can ramp up production when required.
The obviousness of this statement is already apparent, we know we can make 5.56mm ammunition etc, but the more complex an item, the more obscure its supply lines and manufacture routes.
It would serve any UK government well to institute a department that can produce a track of all the parts needed for essential equipment.
This is not as complex as it seems, and was accomplished during the cold war without the current versions of tracking and data analysis tools we now have available.
I don’t support UK buying due to nationalism, I support such purchases and support of local enterprise as a form of additional security to make it more difficult for enemies to contemplate and plan a war. Having local supply and manufacturing ensures we can complicate any calculations of what we have available, and what we can produce.