Pentagon Pacts Expand Missile Production Amid Iran Campaign

The Pentagon announced a series of framework agreements on Wednesday with Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, and Honeywell Aerospace to significantly expand production of critical missiles and defense components, as the United States and Israel continue their military campaign against Iran.

The deals aim to address depleted munitions stockpiles from ongoing operations, which began more than three weeks ago with initial strikes on Iranian targets. Officials described the initiative as placing the defense industrial base on a wartime footing, following directives from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to accelerate output across key weapon systems. The agreements provide long-term demand signals to encourage private investment and remove production bottlenecks.

Under one pact, Lockheed Martin will quadruple annual production capacity for the Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM, from 400 to 1,600 units. The GPS-guided weapon, capable of striking targets up to 499 kilometers away, made its combat debut earlier this month during U.S. Central Command operations in the Arabian Peninsula. Video footage released by the command showed PrSM launches from truck-mounted HIMARS systems targeting...