The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Pentagon’s No.1 weapons supplier Lockheed Martin Corp contract to produce Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors and associated equipment.

The contract, announced on 30 April, is valued at $6.07 billion and will run through to fiscal year 23 contract years.

According to a company statement, the contract calls for the production and delivery of PAC-3 MSE interceptors, launcher modification kits, associated equipment and non-recurring efforts to support the United States and global customers.

“This contract demonstrates our customer’s continued confidence in our ability to deliver unmatched Hit-to-Kill technology that defeats the ever-expanding global threats of today and tomorrow,” said Scott Arnold, vice president, Integrated Air & Missile Defense at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “PAC-3 MSE is one of the most capable multi-mission interceptors, enabling our customers to defend against advanced tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft.”

To meet customer demand and increase production capacity, Lockheed Martin is currently building an 85,000-square-foot expansion at the Camden, Arkansas, facility where PAC-3 MSE interceptors are assembled. The building is expected to be complete by fourth quarter 2021, with operations beginning in first quarter 2022.

The PAC-3 guided air-and-missile defense system provides a highly reactive hit-to-kill capability in both range and altitude while operating in all environments.

The family of PAC-3 missiles is high-velocity interceptors that defend against incoming threats, including tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and aircraft. Thirteen nations – the U.S., Germany, Kuwait, Japan, Qatar, the Republic of Korea, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, the Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Romania, and Sweden have chosen PAC-3 and PAC-3 MSE to provide missile defense capabilities.

In March 2018, U.S. and Polish officials also formalized an agreement for Poland to purchase Lockheed Martin’s PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement missiles and related support equipment.

As a world leader in systems integration and development of air and missile defense systems and technologies, Lockheed Martin delivers high-quality missile defense solutions that protect citizens, critical assets and deployed forces from current and future threats. The company’s experience spans missile design and production, infrared seekers, command and control/battle management, and communications, precision pointing and tracking optics, radar and signal processing, as well as threat-representative targets for missile defense tests.