World's Biggest Defense Contractor in Overdrive Mode - Part 3

Lockheed Martin has been in the process of ramping-up production rates for most key, in-demand defense systems to meet surging demand levels globally and to replenish depleted inventories of the U.S. and allied nations which have donated any of these systems to Ukraine so that the beleaguered nation could effectively fight-off Russian aggression on its soil following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 which has led to an unprecedented surge in global defense spending from 2023 onwards. Key systems on which production rates have been ramped-up include:-

GMLRS: The MLRS family of munition, includes, a range of rockets & missiles providing surface-to-surface precision strike capability, for the MLRS family of launchers, including, HIMARS and the M270, which are capable of striking targets at much longer ranges of around 70 km precisely with 98% accuracy and in a highly cost effective manner. The astounding success of the deployment & utilization of GMLRS by the Ukrainian forces has led to a surge in global demand for the GMLRS, especially by nations located in Eastern Europe facing a significant threat of Russian aggression.

Thus, surging demand for GMLRS has led to a ramp-up in production by Lockheed Martin, in collaboration, with the U.S. Army. The production of GMLRS is slated to significantly ramp-up to from 6,000 rounds annually to 14,000 rounds annually from 2025 onwards with the ramp-up geared towards meeting a surging order book standing worth $4.8 billion. Further, the extended-range GMLRS, or ER GMLRS, variant has just entered commercial production in June 2024 which further extends the striking range further up to 150 km which will further enhance the strategic advantage as well as versatility offered by the system using a much larger motor and enhanced maneuverability. Lockheed Martin has so far produced almost 75,000 rounds for the MLRS family.

HIMARS: The production capacity of HIMARS has already jumped from 48 systems annually to around 60 systems per year as demand is surging for the system after an effective demonstration in Ukraine. The Production rate for HIMARS is slated to go up further to 96 systems per year by late 2024.To achieve further production ramp-up, Lockheed Martin is collaborating with its supply chain partners, increasing tooling and optimizing & maximizing available space within its existing production facility.

For More, Explore our Comprehensive Research Report Comparative SWOT & Strategy Focus: 2024-2027 - World's Top 7 Aerospace & Defense Companies - Airbus, Boeing, BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, RTX

About the Author: Rajat Narang is the Co-Founder & Partner of Noealt Corporate Services apart from being an A&D Industry Researcher & Specialist, Serial Author and Nuclear, Aviation & Cold-War Historian. For his full bio and list of books authored by him on the Global A&D Industry, access his author page on Amazon.com