Lockheed Martin Advances Missile Defense, Hypersonic Programs With New Investments and Tests

Lockheed Martin is accelerating investments and development work across hypersonic weapons, missile defense and advanced sensor technologies as the U.S. military looks to expand munitions production and strengthen defenses against increasingly sophisticated missile threats.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based defense contractor recently outlined progress across four initiatives, including a new modular hypersonic architecture, a Missile Defense Agency simulation contract, a successful rocket-motor test for the Next Generation Interceptor and a $250 million investment in advanced sensor and missile technologies.

Lockheed Invests in Modular Hypersonic System

Lockheed Martin said it is making a multimillion-dollar investment in its Modular Payload Delivery System, or MPDS, an architecture designed to use existing hypersonic missile-body technology across multiple missions.

The system is intended to accommodate different payloads within a common hypersonic airframe, potentially reducing the engineering, testing and cost required to develop separate weapons for individual missions.

Depending on the configuration, MPDS could support deep, long-range strikes, carry larger payloads over shorter distances or be adapted for missile-defense missions.

“By investing in a modular payload delivery system built upon our proven hypersonic technologies and legacy, we’re expanding operational utility, delivering affordability and accelerating advanced capabilities,” said Johnathon Caldwell, vice president and general manager of strategic and missile defense systems at Lockheed Martin.

The company also plans to incorporate automation and streamlined assembly processes to reduce labor requirements and increase production capacity.

Missile Defense Agency Selects Lockheed for Simulation Framework

Lockheed Martin also was selected by the Missile Defense Agency for the Modeling & Simulation Vistas Framework contract.

Under the program, Lockheed will develop, modernize and sustain the agency’s Objective Simulation Framework, a virtual environment used to evaluate the U.S. missile-defense system. The company did not disclose the value of the contract.

The framework is designed to more closely connect missile-defense system design, implementation and testing while enabling new capabilities to undergo virtual evaluation before deployment.

“Missile defense in today’s threat landscape presents an integration challenge across a vast ecosystem,” said Erika Marshall, vice president of enterprise mission command and control at Lockheed Martin.

Next Generation Interceptor Reaches Testing Milestone

Lockheed Martin separately reported a significant test milestone for its Next Generation Interceptor, which is being developed to strengthen U.S. homeland missile defense.

A Stage 2 rocket motor supplied by L3Harris Technologies successfully completed a static-fire test in a high-vacuum chamber that simulated conditions in low-Earth orbit.

The test measured thrust, chamber pressure and combustion stability and evaluated the motor’s ability to withstand expected thermal and pressure conditions.

“This successful static fire test is a significant milestone on the path to the Critical Design Review,” said Christopher Jewell, vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Next Generation Interceptor program.

Results from the test will support the interceptor’s final design as the program moves toward its Critical Design Review.

Lockheed Martin is targeting deployment of the Next Generation Interceptor by 2030. The company also is investing millions of dollars in new and expanded manufacturing facilities in Alabama to support future production.

$250 Million Committed to Strigo Technology Center

Lockheed Martin also highlighted its Strigo family of modular radio-frequency sensors, missile datalinks and seeker technologies.

The company said it has invested $250 million in a dedicated Strigo Product Center, which develops and tests technologies in anticipation of emerging military requirements rather than waiting for formal customer solicitations.

Established less than two years ago, the center has moved several concepts from design into testing. Strigo technologies also have informed elements of the seeker package for the Precision Strike Missile Increment 2 program.

“The Strigo Product Center lets us test and deploy new solutions at unprecedented speed,” said Stacy Kubicek, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin Sensors and Global Sustainment.

Lockheed said Strigo’s common architecture allows technologies to be adapted for applications including air defense, missile defense and air-to-surface missions. The approach is intended to compress development cycles that traditionally take years into a matter of months.

Taken together, the initiatives reflect Lockheed Martin’s broader push toward modular systems, common architectures and increased manufacturing capacity as the Pentagon prioritizes missile defense, hypersonic weapons and the replenishment and expansion of U.S. munitions inventories.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global defense technology company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The company develops and produces aircraft, missiles, fire-control systems, space technologies and other defense and national security systems for U.S. and international customers.