Lockheed Martin is scaling up missile production in North Texas with a $300 million expansion in Grand Prairie as the defense contractor plans thousands of new jobs and races to meet growing U.S. munitions demand.
The company announced that it plans to create 6,000 jobs across the United States, including 2,000 in Texas. Lockheed Martin did not say how many of the Texas jobs will sit specifically in Grand Prairie, so the statewide figure should not be read as a Grand Prairie hiring total.
At the center of the expansion, Lockheed Martin is growing its Grand Prairie manufacturing footprint to more than 735,000 square feet. The project adds 100,000 square feet of new space and converts another 85,000 square feet of former office space into advanced manufacturing areas.
The facility supports Lockheed Martin’s Missiles and Fire Control programs, including the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, Precision Strike Missile and Joint Air-to-Ground Missile. The company said the expansion will help the plant reach record production levels and send more components to final-assembly sites in Arkansas and Alabama.
A Factory Built For Faster Missile Production
Lockheed Martin is also bringing a 24-machine automated manufacturing cell from Hadrian into the Grand Prairie operation. The companies expect the cell to begin operating in early 2027.
Hadrian specializes in automated precision manufacturing for aerospace and defense. Lockheed Martin said the new cell will combine automation, software and precision machining with its existing workforce rather than operate as a separate plant.
The Grand Prairie operation already employs nearly 800 production workers and manufactured about 250,000 parts in 2025, according to Lockheed Martin. The company has installed more than 30 additional high-precision machines in recent months and expects to add nearly 100 new advanced machines by the end of 2026.
Those numbers matter because the expansion is not simply additional floor space. Lockheed Martin is trying to increase the speed and volume of components moving through a plant that feeds several of the Pentagon’s highest-priority missile programs.
Recent Pentagon Deals Are Driving Demand
The Grand Prairie expansion follows a series of federal efforts to increase U.S. missile inventories and shorten production timelines.
The U.S. Army announced September 21 that it had awarded Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Grand Prairie an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract worth up to $1.2 billion for Precision Strike Missile Increment 2 production. The Army said the system can strike moving maritime targets and relocatable land targets.
Earlier this year, The Dallas Express reported that the Department of War and Lockheed Martin had reached a framework agreement to accelerate Precision Strike Missile production by giving the company longer-term demand signals for tooling, testing equipment and factory modernization.
DX also reported in January that the department and Lockheed Martin had reached a seven-year agreement designed to more than triple annual production of PAC-3 missile interceptors from 600 to 2,000.
Lockheed Martin said the $300 million Grand Prairie investment forms part of a broader plan to spend $8 billion to $9 billion through 2030 on munitions capacity and modernization at more than 20 U.S. facilities.
Grand Prairie Sits Inside A Larger North Texas Defense Hub
The expansion adds another major investment to a North Texas aerospace and defense economy that already includes Lockheed Martin’s F-35 operation in Fort Worth and a dense network of suppliers, manufacturers and engineering firms across the region.
The Dallas Express reported in June that Lockheed Martin received an $879 million F-35 contract tied to work in Fort Worth. That award followed other defense contracts involving Grand Prairie missile programs and reinforced the region’s role in both aircraft and missile production.
The new Grand Prairie project could deepen that role, but the company’s 2,000-job Texas figure remains a planned statewide total. Lockheed Martin has not publicly provided a hiring schedule, job-by-job breakdown or salary range for the new Texas positions in its October 14 announcement.
The company also did not identify a new state or local incentive package in the announcement. That leaves the $300 million investment and planned hiring as company commitments, while the final economic impact will depend on how quickly the jobs and production capacity materialize.
What Comes Next
The next measurable milestone will arrive in early 2027, when Lockheed Martin and Hadrian expect the 24-machine automated cell to begin operating in Grand Prairie.
By then, the plant should also have nearly 100 additional advanced machines installed compared with the start of 2026, according to the company’s current schedule.
For North Texas, the expansion places Grand Prairie more firmly inside the federal push to rebuild munitions capacity. For Lockheed Martin, the test will be whether the new machinery, factory space and workforce can turn multiyear defense contracts into missiles and components at the speed federal officials now demand.
Provided by Dallas Express
