The U.S. Department of Defense disclosed $42.4 billion in firm-fixed-price contract awards Thursday, the largest single-day munitions and missile-defense procurement package in Pentagon history. The awards — announced in batches of more than 60 distinct line items — replenish inventories of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, Tomahawk Block V cruise missiles, Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM-ER), and Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptors.
Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) received the largest award at $14.8 billion across PAC-3 MSE production-rate increases through FY2029 and JASSM-ER expansion. The stock closed up 4.8% at $548.60, a fresh all-time high. RTX Corp (RTX) was the second-largest beneficiary at $11.2 billion across Patriot launcher refurbishment, Standard Missile-3 Block IIA production, and Tomahawk Block V; shares closed up 5.1% at $172.40, also at a record high.
Other Beneficiaries
Northrop Grumman (NOC) received $4.6 billion principally for the Sentinel ICBM accelerated build and the IBCS battle-management network — shares rose 3.4%. General Dynamics (GD) was awarded $3.1 billion for Munitions Systems Group production-rate increases (155mm artillery, M829A4) and submarine-related work; shares added 2.8%. L3Harris Technologies (LHX) saw a $2.4 billion award for tactical-radio replenishment and the Falcon-3 line, sending shares up 4.1%. Aerojet Rocketdyne (now part of L3Harris) was the principal solid-rocket-motor sub-tier beneficiary.
Smaller-cap defense names also rallied: Kratos Defense (KTOS