Sophia Elliott 
- The expansion is expected to create 650 full-time jobs over five years
- The expansion will increase production capacity for PAC-3, THAAD and PrSM
- Camden Operations has delivered more than 700,000 missiles and rockets since 1979
Lockheed Martin is making a $420 million capital investment in its Camden, Arkansas, missile production site that is expected to increase production capacity for the PAC-3, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, and Precision Strike Missile, or PrSM, programs, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, or AEDC, said Monday. The investment is also expected to create 650 full-time jobs over five years.
What Does Lockheed Martin Build in Camden?
Established in 1979, Lockheed Martin Camden Operations produces seven Department of War programs: PAC-3, THAAD, PrSM, the Army Tactical Missile System, the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System and the M270 launcher. The 2.2-million-square-foot facility sits on 2,427 acres in the Highland Industrial Park and has delivered more than 700,000 missiles and rockets over the past four decades, according to the AEDC.
In January, Lockheed broke ground on a Munitions Acceleration Center in Camden after reaching an agreement with DOW to quadruple THAAD interceptor production capacity from 96 to 400 per year. The center is designed to train workers to build THAAD, PAC-3 and other systems using advanced manufacturing, robotics and digital technologies.
Adam Bailey, Camden site general manager at Lockheed Martin, said the investment will add production capacity and thanked Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the AEDC for their support.
“Lockheed Martin is relying on South Arkansas to supply American warfighters and our allies all across the world, and Arkansans are answering the call,” Sanders said.
How Is Lockheed Expanding Its Missile Work?
The Camden expansion comes as Lockheed ramps up munitions output under several recent agreements. In July, the company received a seven-year undefinitized contract action modification worth up to $53.86 billion for PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors, raising the multiyear contract’s total value to $58.62 billion. Camden houses final all-up round production for the PAC-3 MSE, and Lockheed’s agreement with DOW aims to raise annual output of the interceptor from 600 to as many as 2,000.
Lockheed has since placed major PAC-3 MSE subcontracts, including a $4.7 billion award to L3Harris Technologies for propulsion systems in September and a roughly $14.7 billion award to Boeing for seekers in October. L3Harris is building two new manufacturing facilities at its own Camden campus, which are expected to open in 2027.
On the PrSM side, the U.S. Army awarded Lockheed a $1.21 billion contract in September for the missile’s Increment 2 Early Operational Capability phase. In October, the service selected the company to develop Increment 4 prototypes, and Lockheed said it is expanding its Camden facility to support Increment 4 production.
Lockheed also received an Army other transaction agreement, announced Oct. 29, to develop and test prototypes of the Future Interceptor, a new weapon for the service’s Integrated Air and Missile Defense portfolio. The government will provide $660.4 million and Lockheed will contribute $423 million in cost sharing, bringing the project’s estimated value to $1.08 billion.
Lockheed is investing $8 billion to $9 billion to expand munitions production across more than 20 U.S. locations.
