Lockheed Martin wins $347.5M US Army contract for air and missile defense prototypes

Lockheed Martin‘s missiles and fire control unit has secured a new $347.5 million contract from the US Army covering the development, fabrication and testing of air and missile defense system prototypes. The cost-plus-incentive-fee award was announced in early July 2026.

Contract details

The award was issued by Army Contracting Command at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, with work handled by Lockheed’s facilities in Grand Prairie, Texas. Development, fabrication and testing are to be completed by 31 December 2028. The official notice does not name a specific system, interceptor or radar the prototype work will improve, stating only that work locations and funding will be set with each individual task order.

Context: layered air and missile defense

The contract is part of the US effort to reshape its air and missile defenses against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonic weapons and drones. That architecture includes PAC-3 interceptors, the next-generation LTAMDS radar and the integrated command-and-control network IBCS — an ecosystem in which Lockheed Martin sits as one of the central manufacturers.

Operational meaning

Prototype-focused contracts typically fund the maturation phase of a system before serial production, allowing new interceptor designs, sensor improvements or software updates to be tested against combat conditions. The timeline stretching to the end of 2028 signals that the Army wants to mature the capability through a gradual, test-driven approach rather than a rushed one.

Relevance for Türkiye

Layered air and missile defense is also a priority for Türkiye, where Ankara is pursuing the Steel Dome (ÇELİK KUBBE) program to knit together low- to high-altitude coverage. The HİSAR family, the long-range SİPER system and the associated radar-sensor network form the components of that indigenous architecture. The US prototype investment underscores how rapidly air defense is deepening worldwide and the technology race underway in the field.