The Pentagon announced an agreement with L3Harris on Monday morning to rapidly expand production of key components found within Patriot missile interceptors, as the administration disputed that reduced U.S. stockpiles are playing a role in the Iran war.
Under the new seven-year framework, which is still being finalized, L3Harris will nearly triple production of its two-pulse solid rocket motor and the Lethality Enhancer, which are components of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement, or PAC-3 MSE.
“This critical, long-term agreement will allow us to continue to move at unprecedented speed and produce PAC-3 propulsion at rates never before seen,” said Ken Bedingfield, the president of missile solutions at L3Harris. “We are actively preparing our facilities and our suppliers to meet the required ramp as well as introducing additional capacity to support future needs of the [War Department] and our allies and strengthen the Arsenal of Freedom.”
The PAC-3 MSE can cost upward of $4 million a piece. Last week, Lockheed Martin announced a plan to produce a new, cheaper variant called the PAC-3 ACE interceptor, which is expected to cost less than half what the PAC-3 MSE costs. The Pentagon, L3Harris, and Lockheed Martin also agreed to a deal, which was announced Monday, of the same length to expand manufacturing of two critical components, the solid rocket boost motor that launches the interceptor and the Liquid Divert and Attitude Control System.
Administration officials have maintained in recent months that stockpiles are not at critical levels and that the U.S. military still has everything needed to carry out any mission approved by the president, even as the military has expended critical munitions during the war in Iran.
President Donald Trump publicly discussed possible military escalation last week, but he ultimately decided not to and instead opted to stop the daily U.S. strikes that were mostly targeting Iran’s ability to target commercial shipping in and near the Strait of Hormuz, which lasted for nearly two weeks straight. Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, reportedly warned the president that resuming major combat operations could lead to dangerous depletion of U.S. missile interceptor stockpiles, according to the New York Times.
The U.S. carried out 13 consecutive days of bombings that ended Friday. During that time, U.S. Central Command said it was targeting Iran’s capabilities to launch attacks in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with attacks on several U.S. Gulf allies, including one attack in Jordan that resulted in the deaths of three American service members. A fourth service member died during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone on Sunday at Erbil Air Base in Iraq.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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War Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Tuesday, July 21, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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War Secretary Pete Hegseth testifies at a Senate appropriations committee hearing on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Gen. Joseph Votel, a former U.S. Central Command commander who oversaw the Global War on Terror and the Defeat ISIS campaign, told the Washington Examiner: “The current strikes are likely causing moderate damage, but the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] is learning over time how to survive and adapt, so without something more significant these strikes may begin to have diminishing returns.”
As Votel surmised, Adm. Brad Cooper, the current CENTCOM commander, reportedly recommended ending the bombing campaign near the strait, having reached the limits of what they can achieve, according to Axios. Continuing these attacks and incurring Iranian retaliation could lead to a further reduction in U.S. stockpiles as it has to defend against those attacks. Cooper also recommended that the U.S. could resume major combat operations to finish the remaining targets that it hadn’t hit during the early phase of the conflict, prior to the ceasefire.
“Any continued limited responses will simply draw missile fire, which will then continue to degrade or limit U.S. missile defense stocks. So at this point, the message from CENTCOM to the president is clear: go big or go home,” Alex Plitsas, a former Army soldier and current Atlantic Council expert, told the Washington Examiner.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who testified last week alongside Caine before the Senate appropriations committee, publicly blamed the Biden administration for its aid to Ukraine as a contributing factor behind the shortfalls. He also said an updated estimated cost of the war is $37.5 billion, though some of that includes future expected expenses.
During the hearing, Caine said: “Air power has limits, and we always have to be mindful of those.”
A U.S. official told the Washington Examiner: “Iran begged the United States to halt the devastating strikes, and they are desperate for a deal. President Trump has said he prefers a diplomatic solution, but he retains all options if Iran continues terrorist activities in the Strait of Hormuz or against our allies.”
Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, echoed that sentiment on Sunday and said the individuals who leaked the claims — that the U.S. missile interceptor stockpiles had an impact on the president’s decision, which he disputed — should be charged. He said there were “a number of leak investigations going on.”
TRUMP’S THREATS TO EXPAND IRAN STRIKES COME AS CONCERNS OVER TRANSPARENCY ESCALATE
Earlier this month, the Pentagon and Justice Department announced they would create a task force cracking down on individuals who leak sensitive War Department information to the media.
Trump said Thursday he was considering “a massive attack” and had publicly discussed focusing the military’s air campaign on Iranian infrastructure and possibly its energy and nuclear facilities, including Pickaxe Mountain, which the U.S. did not target last year during Operation Midnight Hammer. Holding off on an escalatory attack while pausing daily strikes may give the administration another opportunity for a diplomatic solution.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
