Orders for more US Patriot missiles, nuclear submarines fuel defense manufacturing

The U.S. has ordered nearly $60 billion worth of Patriot missiles from Lockheed through 2034 in a move designed to bulk up air defense manufacturing.

Combined with other orders, such as those constructing 14 new nuclear submarines, the U.S. is undergoing its most significant expansions of its defense industrial base in decades.

“The question is no longer whether to modernize the U.S. defense industrial base (DIB), but how quickly it can adapt to a more demanding environment,” notes JPMorganChase.

The $58.6 billion Lockheed contract upgraded a previous $4.7 ​billion, one-year award into a seven-year production schedule, reported Reuters.

In January 2026 the government entered a framework that would allow Lockheed to expand Patriot production from around the 600 delivered last year to 2,000 annually within seven years.

However, the Pentagon still needed to agree to the acquisition.

While Congress must ultimately appropriate money for the contract, the Pentagon commitment allows the company to make plans to expand its manufacturing footprint, said Reuters.

Previously, Heartlander News detailed how a shortage of air defense missiles, such as the Patriot, plays a central role in meetings between President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

Wars in Ukraine, Israel and Iran have put a strain on U.S. stockpiles of expensive interceptor missiles.

“In the 39 days of the air and missile campaign against Iran, the United States is estimated to have used about half of its key munitions,” said The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

While it’s likely the U.S. will have enough air defense munitions to continue to engage in Iran, the worry is that if another conflict breaks out – for example, over Taiwan – the U.S. stockpiles could dwindle.

“There have been reports that the U.S. government informed Japan of delays of up to four years in Tomahawk missile deliveries due to the use of such munitions in the Iran war,” added CSIS.

CSIS noted the Patriot deal will bring in private capital to expand Lockheed’s production facility in Camden, Arkansas, and also allow the government to increase production of other key munitions.

Raytheon (RTX) is a partner with Lockheed in the production of the Patriot.

“Backed by a DOD procurement commitment of up to seven years, RTX also plans to raise annual production of the Tomahawk missile to more than 1,000, the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) to over 1,900, and the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) to over 500,” said CSIS.

The Patriot acquisition is part of an overall plan to make meaningful progress towards creating a real wartime industrial base.

“By initiating and incentivizing large-scale public and private investments, deploying novel industrial policy tools, and undertaking significant defense acquisition reforms, the Department of Defense (DOD) has made meaningful progress toward fostering an industrial base for wartime readiness,” wrote CSIS.

The White House has announced a number of key initiatives in order to rebuild manufacturing for the DOD.

In addition to the Patriot, Tomahawk, AMRAAM and SM-6, the DOD identified 10 other key high and low tech munitions such as the THAAD interceptor and the JATM where manufacturing needs to be built up.

Also on tap is a rebuild of both civilian and military maritime construction in the U.S.

The White House proposed a $1.15 trillion defense budget that includes provisions to help rebuild military manufacturing, much of which passed the House in the latest National Defense Authorization Act.

Also included in the Patriot missile announcement was $76.6 billion for General Dynamics Corp. and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. for construction of nuclear submarines and expansion of military maritime facilities, reported Bloomberg.

The business news service said that the large contracts were an attempt by the Pentagon to give big companies a reason to invest in expanded production.

Still, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said rearming the country and maintaining a lethal military means business as usual isn’t good enough.

Defense experts say it will take more than just refilling a small stock of expensive weapons such as the Patriot to defend against multiple threats. Instead, it will take a large stock of easily manufactured, mass-produced weapons.

In the spring, Trump issued an executive order reforming the procurement system which he complained “tolerated unpredictable costs, bloated overhead, and weak performance.”

The Washington Post reported that since 2024 more than 10,000 new defense companies have entered the space in the U.S., recording $120 billion worth of contracts.

“American industry and its innovative spirit are begging to be unleashed to solve our most complex and dangerous warfighting problems,” Hegseth told industry procurement leaders, according to the Post. “We need to get out of our own way, out of your way.”