Army awards Lockheed nearly $10 billion Patriot missile contract

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00:00The U.S. Army is making its biggest buy yet on missile defense, awarding Lockheed Martin a $9.8

00:06billion contract for nearly 2,000 Patriot Pac-3 interceptors, along with launchers and support

00:14gear. The deal is the largest ever for Lockheed Martin's missiles and fire control division.

00:20Patriot missile interceptors are designed to take out some of the most advanced threats on the

00:31battlefield. Ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, hypersonics, even aircraft. They use what's called

00:37hit-to-kill technology, destroying targets by striking them head-on at speeds topping Mach 4,

00:43that's four times the speed of sound. Each interceptor can reach altitudes of more than

00:49100,000 feet and strike as far as 75 miles away from the launcher. Lockheed says demand surged

00:57after recent combat performance in Ukraine and the Middle East. 17 U.S. allies already used the

01:03Pac-3 system. To keep up with all of that demand, Lockheed Martin had to expand production. A new

01:10facility in Arkansas will help the company deliver more than 600 interceptors next year. That will be

01:17another record. This deal follows Army contracts of $5.2 billion in 2024 and $2.4 billion in 2023,

01:27showing just how central the Pac-3 is to America's missile defense strategy. For the Army and its

01:35allies, the $9.8 billion award is about staying ahead in a world where missile threats are moving

01:42faster and flying farther. For more of our unbiased, straight-fact reporting like this,

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