Episode summary
Lockheed Martin CEO: Defense demand is not fleeting, it's permanent
CNBC Halftime Report
· · 9 min · Hosts: Morgan Brennan · Guests: Jim Taiclet, Michael Duffey
Summary
Lockheed Martin’s expansion in missile and interceptor production was presented as part of a broader push to rebuild U.S. defense manufacturing capacity. The CEO said the company is bringing in outside partners such as Hadrian and General Motors to add robotics, automation, supply-chain expertise and advanced manufacturing to sites like the one in Texas, while the undersecretary argued the Pentagon is responding to global threats by rebuilding munitions stockpiles and deterrence capacity.
The discussion centered on how fast production can scale. The CEO said Lockheed is tripling or quadrupling output of defensive and strike missiles, with a joint plan to move Patriot missile production from about 600 a year to 2,000-plus over time. He said the company will add 6,000 workers and use automation and additive manufacturing to hit those goals, while also working with the capital markets to help suppliers finance expansion.
The government side said funding remains the key missing piece. The undersecretary said Congress will need to approve the money needed to turn existing agreements into contracts, and that the administration wants a more commercial-style relationship with industry. The CEO told investors the demand surge is not a temporary spike but a durable shift that could support longer-term backlog and margin expansion if execution holds.
Key takeaways
- The CEO said Lockheed Martin sees demand for missiles and interceptors as durable, not cyclical, and expects long-term backlog support.
- The CEO said Lockheed plans to ramp Patriot missile output from about 600 a year to 2,000-plus over time.
- The undersecretary said the Pentagon’s main bottleneck is funding, which still has to move through Congress before contracts can be fully backed.
- Lockheed is leaning on automation, robotics and partners like Hadrian and General Motors to widen production capacity and supply-chain depth.
- The CEO said Lockheed is also coordinating with financial firms to help key suppliers secure third-party financing for expansion.
Notable quotes
“WE MAY BE IN THE AEROSPACE AND DEFENSE INDUSTRY, BUT WE'RE IN THE BUSINESS OF DETERRENCE TO ARMED CONFLICT”
“WE ARE TRIPLING OR QUADRUPLING THE PRODUCTION RATE OF THESE KINDS OF DEFENSIVE AND AND SOMIMES STRIKE MISSILES”
“I THINK WHAT INVESTORS NEED TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THAT THIS DEMAND IS NOT FLEETING. IT'S PERMANENT”
“THE OTHER THING I SAY TO EVERYBODY I MEET, DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE”
How the episode opens
Of critical u.s. Defense munitions. Our Morgan Brennan is live at the site in texas with a cnbc exclusive. Morgan.
Hi, frank. That's right. I am here in texas.
I'm joined by the ceo and chairman of Lockheed Martin, Jim Taiclet, and the honorable michael duffy, the undersecretary of acquisition and sustainment for the department of defense. It's great to be with both of you here today. I think just to start, jim, the moment that we're in, when we are so focused as a country on missiles and munitions, what you're doing here and how it speaks to growing manufacturing footprint, a different manufacturing footprint across the country right now.
Yeah.
So, morgan, we are bringing the best of american industry into this site and many others. And just today, secretary and I saw hadrian's new production cell using their automated machines that they build in the united states, design and build in the united states. So robotics are everywhere.
Hadrian's our latest partner in bringing robotics to our production system. And on the other end of the spectrum, you have one of the most storied and largest industrial companies in the world, and that's general motors. So the gm leadership team from their defense business is here and working with us already to bring their manufacturing expertise, their supply chain skills to this mission.
Because what I like to say to my team here and every other place I go is that we may be in the aerospace and defense industry, but we're in the business of deterrence to armed conflict. And so we should go out to every sector of the economy, the tech sector, the telecom sector, manufacturing, robotics, ai and bring all that best technology, all that best capacity and capability to this mission.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- defense spending
- missile production ramp-up
- lockheed martin outlook
- acquisition and sustainment
- market implications
Companies and tickers mentioned
- LMT
- Lockheed Martin
Watch the episode
Watch “Lockheed Martin CEO: Defense demand is not fleeting, it's permanent” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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