Defense company Northrop Grumman announced it had entered into an agreement to accelerate its production and delivery of critical munitions technologies.
The company said it has signed two multi-year agreements with the U.S. Department of War and Lockheed Martin for more than $3 billion that will further power the “Arsenal of Freedom.” The company said it will increase production and accelerate the delivery of munitions for integrated air and missile defense, including the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC3), and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) Component Production.
“Our long-term investments in breakthrough manufacturing technologies and resilient supply chains let us pivot from steady production to a production surge in record time,” Ben Davies, corporate vice president Northrop Grumman, said. “As one of America’s leading producers of solid rocket motors, we’re supporting the administration’s push to accelerate munitions output. It’s a mission-critical leap forward that ensures America’s defense edge stays sharper, faster, and farther ahead of global threats.”
The company said it is scaling design and production capabilities to deliver new rocket motors that will travel farther and faster. As a result of investments since 2021 the company is able to double capacity to deliver solid rocket motors at its Utah facilities, while nearly tripling the capacity at the Allegany Ballistics Lab in West Virginia, and increase solid rocket motor capacity by 25 percent at its Elkton, MD facility.
Two thirds of the funding, $2 billion, will be spent on supplying essential components, including solid rocket motors and ignition safety devices, within the PAC3 system, while the remaining $1 billion will support increased deliveries of THAAD components over seven years, officials said.
“Building the Arsenal of Freedom requires robust, dynamic supply chains at every level of the industrial base,” Michael P. Duffey, Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment, said. “Framework agreements with munition components suppliers like Northrop Grumman are vital to accelerating the tripling of PAC-3 and quadrupling of THAAD interceptor production.”