The War Department announced multiple agreements with defense contractors on Wednesday morning to replenish and expand production of several weapons and systems the military has expended in the war against Iran.
One of the announced agreements was with Lockheed Martin, and the deal is designed to accelerate production of the Precision Strike Missile, which the military used for the first time in combat during the war with Iran.
“Lockheed Martin delivers the advanced precision fires capabilities the warfighter needs, including the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), which expands deep-strike capability,” Lockheed Martin Chairman, President, and CEO Jim Taiclet said. “We are working closely with the Department of War and the U.S. Army to scale production to meet operational demand and ensure the joint force has the capabilities needed to deter and defeat emerging threats.”
The PrSM is designed to succeed the Army Tactical Missile System with extended range, improved lethality, and additional platform versatility.
The framework of the deal gives both sides flexibility to negotiate a future contract for up to seven years, if Congress authorizes it.
The Pentagon, Lockheed Martin, and BAE Systems announced a separate agreement that would quadruple production of the seekers used for the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense interceptor. The seeker is part of the overall THAAD system, and it uses advanced sensors to find and lock onto incoming threats, according to the company’s website.
“This new multiyear agreement provides a long-term demand signal that gives us the confidence to further invest in expanding our capacity,” Tom Arseneault, president and CEO of BAE Systems, said in a release Wednesday. “We remain focused on rapidly delivering superior technology at scale to help our warfighters maintain a decisive advantage.”
The announcement comes weeks after the sides agreed to quadruple THAAD interceptor production from 96 to 400 annually.
“Securing our supply chain is just as critical as our partnership with the prime contractors,” said Michael Duffey, undersecretary of war for acquisition and sustainment. “This agreement with BAE Systems sends a clear, stable, long-term demand signal. We are providing the certainty our partners need to invest, expand, and hire. This is how we place the industrial base on a wartime footing.”
The third agreement the Pentagon announced on Wednesday was with Honeywell Aerospace, and the two sides agreed to a framework deal that would surge the production of critical components for the military’s munitions stockpile, including navigation systems, Honeywell Assure actuators, and electronic warfare solutions.
The Pentagon had already begun trying to expedite and expand the defense industrial base prior to the war in Iran, which is now verging on a month, and U.S. forces have expended countless critical munitions attacking Iran’s military and defending themselves from their retaliatory attacks.
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Iran has relied on cheap one-way attack drones and ballistic missiles to target U.S. forces, Israel, and the Gulf States. The U.S. armed forces’ use of expensive air defense systems to intercept inexpensive Iranian drones has been a concern for the military, which has sought to figure out cheaper air defense options.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth, prior to the war, had visited several defense contractor production facilities across the country in what the department dubbed the Arsenal of Freedom tour to meet with, invigorate, and energize those workers about expanding the defense industrial base’s output.
