Lockheed to make cheaper Patriot interceptors amid demand spike

Lockheed Martin announced a lower-cost Patriot interceptor on Monday as militaries seek cheaper ways to counter drones and missiles, while defence contractors face competition from startups making low-cost weapons that can be produced at scale. 

Lockheed said its new PAC-3 Adapted Capability Effector, or ACE, missile would cost less  than half as much as its PAC-3 MSE interceptors, which cost roughly $4 million per missile, according to United States (US) Army budget documents.

  Initial production could start within 36 months, the company said, adding that it plans to develop and manufacture the weapon with US and European industry partners.

 

  “American and allied warfighters need a solution that is battle-tested ‌and budget-smart,” Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control,  said in a statement at Britain’s Farnborough Airshow. The location of the announcement underscores efforts by US defence companies to tap a European rearmament boom fueled by Russia’s war in Ukraine, even as European governments seek to reduce  dependence on American suppliers and ‌expand local defence manufacturing.

  The Patriot system has become one of the world’s most sought air-defence ??weapons since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv credits Patriot batteries with  helping defend cities against Russian ballistic missile attacks, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed for more launchers and interceptors as Moscow  intensifies air strikes.

  Demand has also been driven by missile exchanges between Iran, the United States and Israel and wider instability in the Gulf.