Lockheed Martin said it would field a new and cheaper model of Patriot missile that could hit the battlefield faster, as global stockpiles of high-end interceptors dwindle.
The company said its PAC-3 Adapted Capability Effector can be made more quickly and will cost buyers less than half as much as its bestselling Missile Segment Enhancement version. Recent Army budget documents show MSE interceptors cost more than $4 million a round.
Lockheed said the new Patriot design can thwart an array of attacks, from cruise missiles to "close-range and short-range ballistic missiles." It didn't disclose its expected performance against the class of longer-range ballistic weapons that Russia has hurled at Ukraine to devastating effect.
Lockheed and RTX, which makes the Patriot launcher system, have pledged to meet White House demands to triple or quadruple their output of some high-tech missiles over the coming years. But military officials have also said they need more low-cost and midrange defenses in their arsenal that can be delivered in months, rather than years.
"PAC-3 was not originally designed from a manufacturability perspective, " Army procurement official Brent Ingraham said at a recent industry event. He pointed to its "hand-fabricated, hand-assembled pieces" rather than the more advanced machinery seen in automotive manufacturing.
U.S. Army officials this year launched a competition to develop a lower-cost interceptor that could be produced for less than $1 million a round. The effort calls for a blank slate by accepting new designs for seekers, rocket motors and other major components assembled into a missile that could still be fired from existing Patriot launchers.
Lockheed plans to tout its new missile design Monday at the annual Farnborough International Airshow, where military gear has grabbed headlines as much as commercial aircraft in recent years.
Write to Drew FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 20, 2026 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
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