Boeing teases production of hundreds more Patriot seekers

Colin Demarest

A missile lifts off from a mobile launcher, angled upward with bright orange flame and thick white smoke. — A PAC-3 launch, with a Boeing-made seeker aboard. Photo: Courtesy of Boeing

Boeing aims to produce 850 Patriot missile seekers this year, a marked bump up from previous rates, according to the head of its defense business.

Why it matters: The Trump administration has demanded speedier results from the American defense industry, simultaneously singling out companies on social media and inking deals to double, triple and quadruple output of specialty munitions.

What they're saying: "We went from over 400 to 650 last year," Steve Parker, the Boeing Defense, Space and Security chief executive, told reporters in London ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow.

"This year, we're going to increase again."

State of play: Boeing, a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin, has produced more than 6,000 Patriot seekers since 2000.

Threat level: The Russia-Ukraine war and America's continued conflicts in the Middle East have underscored the need for air-and-missile defenses, plus the ability to restock at speed.

A recent Center for Strategic and International Studies report found the U.S. used so many top-of-the-line interceptors that stockpiles won't be replenished for years to come.

The bottom line: "I believe nobody can scale up better than the Boeing Company," Parker said, "whether it's our commercial aircraft, whether it's our munitions."

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Boeing teases production of hundreds more Patriot seekers

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