US signs deal to boost Patriot and THAAD missile parts production

By David Ljunggren

Aug 3 (Reuters) - ‌The U.S. ​has signed ​a more than $3 billion deal with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to ramp up production of Patriot and ‌THAAD interceptor missile parts, as conflicts in Iran and ⁠Ukraine strain stockpiles.

The deal, announced by the Pentagon and Northrop on Monday, follows ‌last week's announcement of a ‌contract for Lockheed worth up to $58.6 billion to produce Patriot interceptor missiles.

The U.S. has supplied large amounts of arms to allies ​while also using munitions in the Iran conflict, raising concerns about inventories of air defense and precision-guided weapons.

The Pentagon said ⁠in its statement on Monday that the framework deal would allow production of Patriots to ​triple and THAAD systems to quadruple.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, estimated ​recently that the U.S. military has fewer ‌than 1,000 Patriot interceptors on hand and fewer than 250 THAAD interceptors — two key air defense systems. ⁠Both have been heavily used in the Middle East.

Pentagon negotiators have pressed contractors to move faster with tentative production agreements struck earlier this year ⁠to increase missile output.

Ukraine has run chronically low on supplies of Patriots, which ​remain the only weapon in its arsenal capable of downing ballistic missiles.

The Pentagon said the agreement would establish a second source for PAC-3 solid rocket ‌motors and ramp up output of ignition safety devices.

The U.S. has struck a similar framework deal with ‌Raytheon's parent company RTX to boost production of Tomahawk cruise missiles ⁠from the current rate of ‌about 60 per ​year for the U.S. to eventually 1,000 units annually.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Michelle Nichols, Barbara Lewis, ‌Rod Nickel)

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