Lockheed Martin’s missile production in numbers

As Western countries set about re-arming, the defence industry is having to catch up and reverse the stagnant production processes of the past 30 years. Lockheed Martin is in the process of a significant increase in its missile production, which is a strong contribution to the West’s defence and deterrence. 

Lockheed Martin is undergoing a significant industrial acceleration, rapidly scaling production across key missile and launcher systems to meet surging demand from the US and allied nations. This is a critical factor in enabling the development and re-armament of Western militaries. For the past 30 years, Western MoDs and their defence industry have transitioned to what is essentially a just in time delivery model for production of complex weapons. In a nutshell, companies like Lockheed Martin have built supply chains that meet the demand and timelines set out by relatively small-scale conflict and deployments. This led to a low expenditure of key munitions like Patriot interceptors, and so very little need to produce them in the hundreds or thousands. 

Now, however, it is clear that deep magazines of complex weapons and launchers, as well as the industrial capacity to produce them in the quantities needed is essential. It is in fact a key element of the West’s deterrence. You could argue that the war in Ukraine has laid the West’s defence industry bare. Rheinmetall, Europe’s largest ammunition manufacturer, has stated the aim to produce 1.5 million rounds of artillery ammunition per year. An immense quantity, but a fraction of what Russia may have spent in Ukraine in 2023. The availability of Patriot interceptors to donate to Ukraine and replenish stockpiles has become a significant pain point, especially as Iran’s attacks on Israel during 2024 drew those stocks further down.

As British and French ships deployed to the Red Sea, they too spent a worrying number of their Aster air defence missile stocks, leading to contracts with MBDA for increased production. At the time, however, MBDA needed 42 months to produce a single Aster 30. It has plans to get that down to 18 months, but the point should hopefully be clear that the West currently has shallow stockpiles of the weapons that enable it to fight the types of war it prefers. And, for the past few years, it appeared that our defence industry lacked the capacity to correct that. Now, however, Lockheed Martin has released a feature on its production expansion, which suggests that significant steps have been taken. 

The company is making major investments in manufacturing infrastructure, advanced automation, and supply chain resiliency to deliver critical capabilities faster. This industrial “ramp-up” covers a broad portfolio of precision strike weapons and air defence systems, positioning the defence industrial base for long-term support of global readiness and war-fighting capability.

Calibre comment: A good start

The table below summarises the information provided by Lockheed Martin in its feature. It shows that there has indeed been an increase in production of key missiles at all echelons. This is certainly a good start for the West and the production of strike missiles does appear healthy. However, the field of air defence interceptors is really where the West needs to increase its production. For example, Israel is thought to have fired at least 200 high-end interceptors to defend against just one of Iran’s attacks in 2024. Ukraine has likely spent thousands of air defence missiles against Russia’s attacks and is now seeking a coalition of supporters to procure more. At the same time, Russia is now able to produce around 700-800 9M723 Iskander ballistic missiles per year, along with around 1,600 cruise missiles per year. This is to say nothing of the thousands of Geran-2 one-way attack drones that Russia can produce. Other threat actors like North Korea and China are also building large arsenals of ballistic and cruise missiles that require equally deep stocks of air defence missiles. 

This means that many different countries need to build stockpiles of interceptors, including but not limited to Japan, South Korea, most of Europe, and the US. However, there are relatively few air defence systems that can do what Patriot does, specifically ballistic missile defence. So, this means there is a lot of pressure on that supply chain unless more orders for systems like the SAMP/T or Arrow are placed. With all of that in mind, Lockheed’s announcements are a good start, and should be welcomed. But for a truly effective air defence and deterrent effect, it is likely that PAC-3 MSE missile production will have to increase further still.

Key programs and missile production targets

Part of the Javelin missile production line at the Pike County Production Facility in Troy, Alabama. Credit: Lockheed Martin.

Lockheed Martin’s production surge targets several critical systems, each with defined capacity expansion goals that are outlined below. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on October 8, 2025. The lead image shows a Patriot launcher firing a PAC-3 MSE. PAC-3 MSE offers improved range, speed, and manoeuvrability, making it an effective counter to a wide range of threats, including tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and aircraft. (Official US Army photo)