The U.S. Department of Defense announced it had reached an agreement with Lockheed Martin to accelerate production of Precision Strike Missiles to a faster pace that would put the defense industrial base on a wartime footing.
Calling for the building of an “Arsenal of Freedom,” the department said Lockheed Marti will make targeted investments to advance tooling, facility modernization and critical testing equipment to slash production lead times. The move ensures the department has “deep strike” capabilities that can be delivered to the warfighter faster and more efficiently, officials said.
“Through this agreement, we are actively building the Arsenal of Freedom with speed and urgency,” Michael Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, said. “By empowering industry to invest in the factory floor, we are building a decisive and enduring advantage for our warfighters to outpace any potential adversary.”
Officials said the initiative is a core component of the department’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy as well as of the work of the Munitions Acceleration Council. With agreements like this with defense industry leaders, the Defense Department is ensuring the arsenal and the industrial base remain robust, responsive and capable of delivering speed, scale and resilience to deter aggression and foster success by the armed forces in future conflicts.
Lockheed Martin said it was mobilizing the full might of its industrial and technological power to build the “Arsenal of Freedom” and will quadruple PrSM production capacity.
“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.”