L3Harris Lands $6 Billion Lockheed Contract to Quadruple THAAD Propulsion

L3Harris has received an undefinitized contract from Lockheed Martin valued at more than $6 billion to expand propulsion production for the THAAD missile defense interceptor. The seven-year award, announced September 29, is meant to roughly quadruple output of the motors and steering systems that power the interceptor, according to the company.

The figure excludes escalations. L3Harris said the work includes solid rocket boost motors, the liquid divert and attitude control systems that steer the missile’s kill vehicle, and the construction of a new facility to raise THAAD manufacturing capacity.

A July Framework Becomes a Contract

The award turns a framework agreement signed in July between L3Harris, the Department of War and Lockheed Martin into paper. That earlier deal set the goal of quadrupling THAAD propulsion production. L3Harris has described the planned contract as the largest THAAD propulsion award it has received. Breaking Defense noted that the July agreement also covered rocket motor production for the Patriot PAC-3 interceptor.

Because the contract is undefinitized, the final terms and quantities are still to be negotiated. L3Harris did not disclose how many motors it expects to deliver each year.

Ken Bedingfield, president of L3Harris Missile Solutions, said the contract “underscores L3Harris’ demonstrated ability to quickly deliver critical defense technologies at the scale and speed required by the Department of War.” He added that the company is proud to partner with Lockheed Martin “to significantly scale production of these vital interceptors.”

Motors From Huntsville and Camden

THAAD’s propulsion work sits with Aerojet Rocketdyne, which L3Harris acquired. The company’s advanced manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Alabama, and its site in Camden, Arkansas, build the solid rocket boost motor. In 2024 Aerojet Rocketdyne marked delivery of its 1,000th THAAD boost motor and 1,000th divert and attitude control system to Lockheed Martin, ahead of schedule.

L3Harris has not said where the new facility will be built or when it is expected to open. The press release, issued from the company’s base in Melbourne, Florida, also points to added capacity for the liquid divert and attitude control systems.

The company says THAAD has a 100 percent intercept success rate in flight tests since production began. The system is built to destroy short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles both inside and outside the atmosphere.

Interceptor Output Is Now a Supplier Story

The contract follows a Pentagon move to expand THAAD production at the prime contractor level. Bloomberg reported that Lockheed Martin won a seven-year undefinitized contract worth as much as $35 billion to quadruple THAAD interceptor output. Rocket motors are one of the hardest links in that chain, and a prime contractor cannot raise deliveries faster than its propulsion supplier can ship.

Solid rocket motors have been a recurring bottleneck across US munitions programs. The same week, the Pentagon awarded Raytheon a multiyear contract worth up to $20.7 billion to nearly double AMRAAM output, a deal covered in our report on the AMRAAM multiyear contract. That program also depends on motor suppliers scaling in step.

L3Harris is a large supplier across the sector. Earlier this month it was in the news for its work on Morocco’s C-130H fleet modernization.

The next step is definitization of the contract with Lockheed Martin, which will fix quantities, pricing and delivery schedules. The company has not given a date for that or for the start of construction on the new plant.