A PAC-3 version of the Patriot missile, which uses a seeker produced by Boeing. (Photo/Lockheed Martin)
COMMENTARY
By Troy Turner
Drone warfare has taken center stage not only in battlefield tactics around the globe, but also in the headlines that report the conflicts using them.
Everyone is talking about drones; or UAVs and UASs, to use the official lingo for unmanned aviation vehicles and systems.
There are even opinionated talking heads and self-styled social media experts who are so focused on drones, a few of them mistakenly have questioned if heavy investments in missiles are still worthy of the costs and diversion from drone production.
Any shade being thrown in that direction should be thrown out the window instead.
Russia’s early Sunday morning attack on Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv, for example, involved nearly 600 drones fired on the city — in coordination with 90 missiles.
And some of those missiles weren’t just missiles.
The Russians are believed to have used their infamous hypersonic, highly maneuverable Oreshnik missile, which is capable of carrying multiple warheads, including nuclear armaments.
The Oreshnik is but one of many examples of missile development that proves such weaponry still and will play a significant combat role, both on offense and defense.
There is another missile — one being produced in Huntsville, Alabama — that without fail also will continue to make headlines.
Creating a hit-to-kill defender
The U.S. military previously awarded Lockheed Martin a multi-billion-dollar contract for the newest version of the Patriot interceptor missile, the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, or PAC-3, which the company bills as the world’s most advanced defense missile.
You may have been hearing about the effectiveness of Patriot missiles for several years, but there are multiple revisions with the PAC-3 iteration that greatly enhance the weapon, including a change in its size that allows launchers to be loaded and fire 12-16 missiles instead of four.
Also, a change with its hit-to-kill technology.
Lockheed Martin’s primary subcontractor with the PAC-3 is Boeing, which employs more than 3,000 workers in Huntsville to produce the missile’s all-important seekers — or the brains of the missile — that identify, track and direct intercepts of enemy targets.
Lockheed Martin and Boeing both continue to make improvements and additions to their campuses in Huntsville, as both are involved with numerous research and development projects in the space and missile defense sectors, such as Lockheed Martin’s focus on the Next Generation Interceptor to defend against intercontinental ballistic missiles. The NGI program is another Huntsville-led operation.
The PAC-3 is primarily designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, advanced threats and aircraft, and since the earliest days and versions of the Patriot missile, it has remained in big demand by American allies and their militaries around the globe.
The Boeing-made seekers are keeping the missile smart and effective, and it will be interesting to follow the progress made in future versions of the seeker.
Not to mention, the seekers are so cool not just to tech geeks and innovators, but to a general public in Alabama that voted the PAC-3 seeker as the “2025 Coolest Thing Made in Alabama.”
Boeing’s growth in Huntsville
Boeing and its PAC-3 seekers made news in April when the War Department and Boeing announced they had entered into a new seven-year agreement to triple production of the seekers “to meet global demand for air and missile defense to protect service members, civilians and critical infrastructure.”
The effort is being billed as a cornerstone of the Arsenal of Freedom, a national initiative to strengthen the defense industrial base “and secure a future of peace through strength.”
Boeing hosted U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and several government leaders at its PAC‑3 seeker factory in Huntsville during December 2025. Congressman Dale Strong and Sen. Tommy Tuberville were among the guests. (Photo/Boeing)
“The agreement enables a massive increase in the supply of seekers needed to expand the protection provided by the world’s most advanced air defense system,” the announcement said.
Boeing has invested more than $200 million since 2024 to expand PAC-3 seeker production capacity in Huntsville, including a 35,000-square-foot facility expansion.
Under the latest agreement, Boeing, the DOW and PAC-3 prime contractor Lockheed Martin will immediately begin production ramp-up and negotiate toward a multiyear contract award later this year, the parties announced.
“This agreement paves the way for us to scale rapidly to deliver increasingly sophisticated seekers,” said Bob Ciesla, vice president, Boeing Precision Engagement Systems. “In 2025, we increased deliveries by over 30 percent, and we’re excited for the opportunity to grow our highly skilled workforce and our presence in Huntsville as we now triple production.”
All to say, Boeing’s role in making the U.S. military’s missile defense effective is only going to grow.
And thus, so too the ever-expanding contributions of Huntsville, Alabama, to missile defense in protecting our national security.
Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be contacted at [email protected]. His bio can be found here.
Similar stories of interest:
