$35B Missile Spree — Who Gets Protected?

Washington just put up to $35 billion on the table to churn out more missiles at record speed, while many Americans still feel their own security — economic and personal — has been left behind.

Story Snapshot

Lockheed Martin won a seven-year, up to $35.35 billion deal to quadruple THAAD missile-interceptor output.
The deal is an “undefinitized” contract, meaning Congress still has to lock in the full funding.
Trump’s team is using this and similar deals to build a fast-moving “war economy” focused on weapons production.
Supporters see stronger defense and jobs, while critics see elites cashing in and fiscal risk for taxpayers.

Big Missile Deal At The Heart Of Trump’s War Economy

The Missile Defense Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a seven-year contract action worth as much as $35.35 billion to boost production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile interceptors.^[4] The company is expected to ramp up from about 96 interceptors per year to roughly 400, more than four times current output.^[3] Officials say this surge will help restock missile defenses after recent conflicts and prepare for future threats, especially from Iran and other hostile states.^[6]

Lockheed Martin’s own announcement calls the award a “transformational shift” toward multiyear buying, meant to strengthen America’s “Arsenal of Freedom.”^[1] Company executive Tim Cahill said the new approach will deliver weapons to troops at “unprecedented speed and scale.”^[1] The framework for this deal dates back to January, when Lockheed and the Department of War agreed to expand THAAD production over several years.^[10] This contract is the main step that turns that framework into real, ongoing work across several states.^[7]

How Undefinitized Contracts Let Washington Move Fast

This huge agreement is an “undefinitized contract action,” which is Washington’s term for a deal where work begins before all terms and prices are fully set.^[17] The Hill notes that full funding is still contingent on Congress, and only after approval will Lockheed receive a definitive contract.^[2] Undefinitized contract actions are common when the government wants speed, letting factories ramp up while lawyers and auditors sort out details.^[18] But they also shift risk and can leave taxpayers exposed if costs drift higher.^[23]

Defense rules say undefinitized contracts can be used when waiting would slow critical work, like missile production during tense global standoffs.^[17] Government guides warn that if these deals are not closely managed, they can lead to cost overruns or delays.^[21] Critics of the THAAD award point to this history and ask whether “war economy” speed is coming at the price of careful oversight.^[23] Supporters counter that delays could leave U.S. bases and allies exposed while missile stockpiles run low.^[8]

Trump’s Push To Turn Defense Into A Production Machine

The THAAD deal fits a broader push by President Donald Trump to turn the defense sector into a high-output “arsenal” rather than a slow bureaucracy.^[5] Shortly after returning to office, Trump signed an executive order to overhaul defense buying and tie executive pay and stock buybacks to weapons delivery schedules.^[7] Companies that miss timelines now risk penalties and lost rewards, creating strong pressure to prioritize factory output over Wall Street metrics.^[7] Lockheed’s missile division is one of the main test cases for this new approach.

Lockheed Martin is responding with aggressive investment. The company plans to spend more than $9 billion through 2030 to build or upgrade weapons plants nationwide, including a new munitions production center in Alabama focused on THAAD interceptors.^[5]^[6] Supporters say these steps will create jobs, rebuild the industrial base, and make sure America can fight long wars without running out of key weapons.^[5] Skeptics worry that this “war economy” locks the country into constant conflict and keeps billions flowing to defense contractors while basic needs at home remain strained.^[6]

Shared Public Concerns: Security For Whom?

Bloomberg reports that the THAAD award is part of a broader Trump administration effort to bolster munitions output across the board.^[2] For conservatives tired of past “woke” priorities and weak borders, this looks like Washington finally focusing on hard power and manufacturing instead of global talk.^[5] For liberals angry about inequality and cuts to social programs, it can feel like proof that elites will always find money for missiles, even while telling ordinary families to tighten their belts.^[6]

Lockheed Martin Wins Up to $35 Billion THAAD Contract
Lockheed Martin has secured a seven-year contract action worth up to $35 billion to significantly increase production of THAAD interceptors. Read the full article onhttps://t.co/ps0MGkqw3m

— Machine Maker (@themachinemaker) June 26, 2026

Both sides share a deeper worry: that the federal government works better for giant firms than for regular citizens. This THAAD contract is huge, complex, and tailored around Lockheed’s plans, yet it moves faster than many efforts to fix health care, schools, or housing.^[2] The undefinitized status shows how Washington will bend rules to rush weapons, but not always to rush relief. Whether one cheers or fears Trump’s war economy, the core question remains the same: whose security is Washington really building?^[23]