Iran war missile maker: defense demand “appears permanent”

Description

Lockheed Martin’s CEO, Jim Taiclet, told investors on October 22 that demand across the defense industry “appears permanent.” His company builds Patriot missiles, one of the main weapons the US fires to shoot down Iran’s missiles and drones.

By mid-July, officials told The Wall Street Journal, the US had fired about 1,700 Patriot missiles in the war with Iran. That’s nearly three times as many as Lockheed built in all of 2025, a record year. The Pentagon calls reports that US munitions are depleted “completely false.”

Each of Lockheed’s Patriot missiles is valued at around $4 million. One of Iran’s Shahed drones costs about $35,000.

On July 29, the government gave Lockheed a contract worth up to $53.86 billion over seven years to build more of them. That day, Taiclet said, “This is a once-in-a-generation moment.” By the end of September, Lockheed’s missile business had $142.5 billion in orders waiting to be filled, triple what it had at the start of the year.

Asked about growth after 2028, Taiclet named Russia, China and Iran, which he said “is seemingly not going anywhere as far as its goals in the Middle East to have more dominance there.” He called it “an unfortunate geopolitical situation that I think will create this sustained demand for many, many years.”

RTX, whose Raytheon unit makes the Patriot’s radars and launchers, said its profit from July through September rose 35%. President Trump’s financial disclosure, released in June, shows he held more than $1 million each in Lockheed Martin and RTX stock. The White House says independent managers run his investments.

Taxpayers pay for every Patriot missile the US fires, and for the ones that replace them. Lockheed’s CEO expects that demand to last for many, many years.

Transcript

On Oct. 22, Lockheed Martin’s CEO, Jim Taiclet, told investors that demand across the defense industry “appears permanent.” His company builds Patriot missiles, one of the main weapons the US fires to shoot down Iran’s missiles and drones.

By mid-July, officials told The Wall Street Journal, the US had fired about 1,700 Patriot missiles in the war with Iran. That’s nearly three times as many as Lockheed built in all of 2025, a record year. The Pentagon says reports that US munitions are depleted are “completely false.”

Each of Lockheed’s Patriot missiles is valued at around $4 million. One of Iran’s Shahed drones costs about $35,000.

On Aug. 4, the government gave Lockheed a contract worth up to $53.86 billion over seven years to build more of them. That day, Taiclet said, “This is a once-in-a-generation moment, and we are moving with wartime urgency.” By the end of September, Lockheed’s missile business had $142.5 billion in orders waiting to be filled, triple what it had at the start of the year.

On the October call, an analyst asked about growth after 2028. Taiclet named Russia and China, and said Iran “is seemingly not going anywhere as far as its goals in the Middle East to have more dominance there.” He said, “It’s an unfortunate geopolitical situation that I think will create this sustained demand for many, many years.” He also said, “Our product is deterrence.”

Taxpayers pay for every Patriot missile the US fires, and for the ones that replace them. Lockheed’s CEO expects that demand to last for many, many years.

Sources and credits

Lockheed Martin, third-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, Oct. 22, 2026. sec.gov
RTX, third-quarter 2026 earnings release, Form 8-K, Exhibit 99, Oct. 20, 2026. sec.gov
Bloomberg News via Bloomberg Law, the Pentagon seeks $18.2 billion in Iran war funds for interceptors, July 31, 2026. news.bloomberglaw.com
US Office of Government Ethics, President Trump’s annual financial disclosure report (OGE Form 278e) for 2025, received June 29, 2026. oge.gov (copy: citizensforethics.org)
CNBC, Trump’s oil and gas holdings during the Iran war, with the White House statement that independent managers make his investment decisions, Sept. 9, 2026. cnbc.com
The Motley Fool, “Lockheed Martin (LMT) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript,” Oct. 22, 2026. fool.com
The Wall Street Journal, “The U.S. Is Burning Through Its Supply of Interceptors to Counter Iran’s Attacks,” Sept. 15, 2026. wsj.com
Defense News, “L3Harris gets $4.7 billion deal to help boost Patriot interceptor production,” Sept. 14, 2026. defensenews.com
Lockheed Martin, “Department of War Awards Lockheed Martin $58.62B for Multiyear PAC-3 MSE Production to Strengthen the Arsenal of Freedom,” July 29, 2026. news.lockheedmartin.com
U.S. Army, Portfolio Acquisition Executive FIRES, “U.S. Army Awards replacing a 1-Year Undefinitized Contract Action with a 7-Year Undefinitized Contract Action,” July 29, 2026. dvidshub.net
RTX, “The Netherlands awards RTX’s Raytheon a $627 million contract for Patriot air and missile defense equipment,” April 8, 2026. rtx.com

Picture credits

Jim Taiclet: “Jim Taiclet at the House Armed Services Committee (2023) 01” by the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.
Patriot PAC-3 MSE test launch, White Sands Missile Range, Feb. 20, 2020, and Patriot PAC-3 test launch, July 2018: U.S. Army videos by John Drew Hamilton, White Sands Missile Range Public Affairs, via DVIDS (public domain). dvidshub.net, dvidshub.net
US air defense in the Gulf, April 2, 2026: U.S. Army photo via DVIDS (public domain). Wikimedia Commons
Sean Parnell: U.S. Department of Defense photo (public domain).
PAC-3 MSE display missile, Kielce, Poland: “PAC-3 MSE interceptor missile – MSPO 2026, Poland, Kielce” by Krzysztof Popławski, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped and darkened.
A Shahed-type drone (Russian-built Geran-2), Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine, Feb. 19, 2026: State Emergency Service of Ukraine (dsns.gov.ua), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.
Lockheed Martin and RTX releases and filings: Lockheed Martin, RTX and US Securities and Exchange Commission EDGAR, shown as quoted excerpts.
Reloading a Patriot launcher, April 29, 2026: U.S. Army photo (USARCENT) via DVIDS (public domain). Wikimedia Commons
President Trump’s financial disclosure: US Office of Government Ethics, OGE Form 278e (public domain).

The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.