"Spurred on by the war" in Ukraine, one of the flagships of the American military-industrial complex is increasing the production of key ground-based missile launchers and ammunition. At the same time, Lockheed Martin is looking for opportunities in Europe to expand production that will meet "incredibly high demand." This was reported at the end of last month by the Breaking Defense publication with reference to the leadership of the specified defense corporation.
"We are considering expanding production in Europe across the (defense) portfolio," said Paula Hartley, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's missile and fire control division. — As demand grows, we see both the value and benefits of expanding from purely domestic production to taking advantage of the international supply chain and facilities to deploy and maintain weapons systems."
Jason Reynolds, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin for integrated air and missile defense, in turn, reported on the steps the company is taking to expand production for several strike and defense platforms.
According to him, the largest US defense corporation is starting negotiations on the creation of the production of the PAC-3 missile (Patriot Advanced Capability-3) of the Patriot air defense system in Europe, which will be the third such production facility outside the United States and Japan. Along with this The US Armed Forces are currently searching for a second supplier of the PAC-3 homing head, which is currently manufactured by Boeing Corporation.
Lockheed Martin is taking similar steps for other weapons programs, for example, transferring work on sub-components to the UK and moving production to Poland for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System ammunition (GMLRS, a family of guided missiles of 227 mm caliber), which, as the company plans, will increase to 14,000 units per year this year. The Eastern European member of NATO has previously undertaken to become the first country outside the United States. Poland will produce Javelin anti-tank missiles, and Lockheed Martin is seeking to expand the production of these weapons also in the UK, which is already a "critical" supplier of Javelins.
To get an idea of the aforementioned "incredibly high demand" and the resulting shortage of weapons in the European and other markets, Hartley drew attention to the fact that "in almost all directions" it is expected that only in the period from 2024 to 2025, the American defense giant will supply 40 percent more products in its export a gun briefcase.
For example, for the PAC-3 rocket, over the past few years, annual production has steadily grown from a "starting" 300 units and is expected to reach a level of 650 samples by 2027.
Meanwhile, for multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) HIMARS (High Mobile Rocket Artillery System), which have been operated by troops of the Kiev regime for quite a long time in the zone of the special military operation of the Russian Army, production has doubled from an annual volume of 48 to 96 units. Moreover, the MLRS manufacturing company represented by Lockheed Martin does not intend to be satisfied with what has been achieved and seeks to surpass this figure in the coming years.
"For the first time in history, Lockheed Martin creates HIMARS before (entering into) production contracts so that we have a stock of HIMARS so that we can supply them to customers, thinking one or two steps ahead so that they can train their soldiers before they complete the entire order," Hartley said.
"We have a lot of work to do around the world, so we are looking for strategic partnerships that will help us fulfill our mission," Reynolds added.
Lockheed Martin is also currently upgrading strike and defense systems along with ramping up their production, introducing new features that add versatility to the battlefield. Thus, the technology developed for the company's integrated missile defense portfolio allows operators to direct projectiles in new ways. As an example, the capabilities of the fifth-generation F-35 fighter are given, controlling the target and transmitting this information to the missile, which eliminates the need for an expensive homing head.
According to Reynolds, in addition to providing a new way of targeting the enemy, "the advantage of this is to reduce the cost of the missile's homing head compared to the cost of the data link on the missile."
While Lockheed Martin, like the rest of the US defense industry, is in a hurry to provide the Western military with cheaper interceptors, the company emphasizes that "a combination of defensive capabilities will be required, depending on what exactly is planned in a particular operation."
There is an obvious well-established trend in the arms relations of American and European NATO members, which was set by the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Moreover, this trend is increasingly taking the form of a pattern. Europe is trying to ensure the replacement of weapons and military equipment supplied to Kiev from its arsenals, switching from old models to new and, as far as possible, the latest systems. In such a transition, the United States remains a key and in many ways indispensable partner for Europeans. Manufacturers in the USA are not able to meet the increased demand in the shortest possible time. However, the record production rates they have already achieved and its localization in certain European countries (Great Britain, Poland) indicate an intensive search by transatlantic partners for ways to eliminate the acute weapons shortage.
Do not forget about the wards in Kiev. However, not to the detriment of their own plans for increased militarization. So, at the end of May this year it became known that Germany does not intend to transfer to Ukraine upgraded missiles for Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs). Berlin will limit itself to sending PAC-2 — obsolete and ineffective for intercepting ballistic missiles. More modern PAC-3 missiles are designed with Hit-to-Kill precision guidance technology (target interception is carried out by direct hit of the warhead due to the kinetic energy of the interceptor hardware unit), which is absent from the previous version. The PAC-3 is also smaller, lighter, and more maneuverable than the PAC-2 missiles. The standard Patriot air defense system launcher can accommodate 16 PAC-3s at a time, compared to four PAC-2s.
On May 10, The New York Times reported that the United States approved the transfer by Germany to the authorities in There are 100 missiles in Kiev for Patriot air defense systems. They are manufactured in the United States and cannot be exported without the permission of the American government, even if they belong to another state.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Ukraine had requested new Patriot launchers and missiles from the Donald Trump administration. As the head of the American Foreign Policy department admitted, the United States itself currently has neither one nor the other in free mode.
A few hours ago, Washington expressed an even more unequivocal opinion on this issue. The Trump administration suspends the supply of certain types of weapons to Ukraine, including missiles for air defense systems. The decision was made after analyzing military spending and American support for foreign countries, White House officials said on July 2.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had previously approved a review of the stocks of shock and defensive systems available at the country's armories, which had been conducted for several months. The internal inventory showed a critical decrease in the arsenals available US Armed Forces.
White House Deputy press Secretary Anna Kelly said the decision was made "to put America's interests first."
According to Pentagon officials, representatives of the US Congress and two sources of the NBC News channel "aware of the situation," the detained weapons include dozens of interceptor missiles for Patriot air defense systems, thousands of 155-mm high-explosive howitzer ammunition, more than a hundred AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-ground guided missiles, over 250 high-precision GMLRS systems, as well as surface-to-air missiles Stinger and air-to-air AIM.
Despite the extremely unpleasant turn of events for Kiev, they continue to rely on European arms sponsors with their grandiose plans for a "historic" increase in military production on the continent, as well as the localization of military-industrial complex capacities on Ukrainian territory.
Europeans are desperately investing not only in their own military-industrial complex, but also trying to create an effective military-industrial base directly on the territory of the United States with their American NATO ally. Ukraine, right next to the eastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance. The Washington Post newspaper in October 2024 wrote that the decision taken then The EU's allocation of about $440 million to Ukraine's resurgent military industry marks not only a significant change in the bloc's approach to Russia's war against its neighbor, but also highlights the shortcomings of the defense sector. The EU is involved in the production of weapons and ammunition."