A Soldier with Task Force Talon, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, observes as a missile pallet is lower, during a practice missile reload and unload drill of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Feb. 6, 2019. (Army photo by Capt. Adan Cazarez)
WASHINGTON — The Missile Defense Agency today awarded Lockheed Martin a $35 billion undefined contract action (UCA) to quadruple production of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors over a seven-year period, the company and the Defense Department announced.
The company said the contract “puts in action” the THAAD framework agreement Lockheed signed with the DoD in January. As Breaking Defense reported at the time, the agreement will allow THAAD interceptor production to grow from its current rate of 96 missiles a year to an annual rate of 400 interceptors.
“This award reflects our shared vision with the Department of War to strengthen America’s Arsenal of Freedom through a transformational shift to multiyear procurement,” Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, said in a company release today. “This new approach propels our efforts to strengthen the defense industrial base, expand production and deliver capabilities to the American warfighter at unprecedented speed and scale.”
