Lockheed Martin on Thursday officially broke ground on an 87,000-square-foot Munitions Production Center at its Troy, Alabama campus, advancing a multi-year effort to expand U.S. missile manufacturing capacity and bolster the defense industrial base. The new facility, identified as Building 47, will contain production lines dedicated to Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptors and the Next Generation Interceptor missiles, and is designed to nearly double the site’s current output.
At the groundbreaking ceremony Lockheed Chairman, President and CEO Jim Taiclet framed the project as a critical investment for the nation’s defense industrial base. Taiclet said the plant is included in an $8 billion to $9 billion investment program running through 2030, and that about $1.25 billion of that amount has already been expended prior to finalization of related contracts. He said, "Today we mark an important step forward for our nation’s defense industrial base."
The expansion at Troy follows a set of framework agreements the company secured earlier in the year. Under a seven-year framework Lockheed agreed to raise THAAD interceptor production to 400 units annually, up from 96. In related production commitments the company agreed to increase annual output of Patriot PAC-3 missile interceptors to 2,000 units, more than tripling current levels. Lockheed also announced a third framework agreement that will quadruple production of the Precision Strike Missile.
Michael Duffy, the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer, attended the ceremony and emphasized the role of multi-year procurement agreements in enabling industrial investment by creating greater demand certainty. In his remarks he said, "Today marks the moment talk becomes action."
Company officials said Building 47 is expected to generate a substantial number of jobs over the next three years, adding to nearly 4,000 employees Lockheed already has in Alabama. As part of the broader manufacturing expansion Lockheed plans to add approximately 4,500 frontline workers nationwide.
Lockheed’s Troy campus is involved in final assembly of multiple missile systems, including Javelin, THAAD, Hellfire and JASSM. The company has also begun work on a separate Munitions Acceleration Center in Camden, Arkansas earlier this year and intends to modernize more than 20 facilities across Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Massachusetts and Texas.
The project at Troy forms part of a wider push to increase production capacity across Lockheed’s missile portfolio through facility upgrades and expanded manufacturing lines. Officials highlighted contract frameworks and investments as central to meeting higher annual production rates and supporting the defense industrial base.
Summary
Lockheed Martin has started construction on Building 47, an 87,000-square-foot Munitions Production Center at its Troy, Alabama site, to house THAAD and Next Generation Interceptor production lines. The project is part of an $8 billion to $9 billion investment plan through 2030, with $1.25 billion already spent, and follows framework agreements to significantly raise production rates for THAAD, Patriot PAC-3 and the Precision Strike Missile. The expansion is expected to add substantial jobs locally and contribute to a broader nationwide hiring plan.