Defense contractor Lockheed Martin announced last week that it has received a $6.07 billion contract from the United States Army to produce the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptors to be delivered across FY21, FY22 and FY23 contract years.

The company will also provide incidental services, hardware, facilities, equipment, and all technical, manufacturing and testing efforts, missile segment enhancement configuration and associated equipment 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 for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control Integrated Air & Missile Defense.

"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," Arnold added.

The PAC-3 MSE is Lockheed Martin's latest upgrade to the PAC-3 missile, and it incorporates a larger, dual pulse solid rocket motor and larger fins; as well as upgraded actuators and thermal batteries to provide increased performance and extend the missile's reach. The PAC-3 MSE is packaged in a single canister that stacks to provide logistical flexibility, while twelve individual missiles can be loaded on a Patriot Launcher or a combination of six MSEs and eight PAC-3 Missiles (two four packs).

To meet customer demand, as well as to increase production capacity, Lockheed Martin is currently building an 85,000-square-foot expansion at its Camden, Arkansas, facility where the PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles will be assembled. According to reports from DefenseWorld the building is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2021, while operation will begin in the first quarter of 2022.

In addition, work on the PAC-3 MSE program will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama; Ocala, Florida; Chelmsford, Massachusetts; Grand Prairie and Lufkin, Texas; and Archbald, Pennsylvania, with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2027. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is handling the contracting activity for the program.

International clients for the PAC-3 MSE include Bahrain, Germany, Japan, Poland, Qatar, Romania, South Korea, Sweden and the UAE.

Last month Lockheed Martin was also awarded an $818 million contract with the United States Air Force to produce 790 more Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM), a long-range, conventional, air-to-ground, precisions standoff missile. It was designed to destroy high-value, well-defended, fixed and relocatable targets.

The 2,000-pound class weapon features a penetrator/blast fragmentation warhead, and employs precision routing and guidance in adverse weather, day or night. It also utilizes a state-of-the-art infrared seeker in addition to the anti-jam GPS to find a specific aimpoint on the target. The JASSM is integrated on the U.S. Air Force's B-1B, B-2, B-52, F-16 and F-15E.

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.

Image: Reuters.