The American defense contractor Lockheed Martin is facing hurdles in ramping up production of its Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missiles. A trade publication focused on the defense industry notes ongoing bottlenecks affecting output capacity.
Becky Whitrow, the company’s business development lead, identified the shortage of machine tools and testing equipment as the most significant obstacle to expanding throughput.
Currently operating at full capacity, Lockheed Martin manufactures about 10,000 GMLRS units annually. By 2024, the company aimed to lift this figure to 14,000 missiles per year, but a Lockheed Martin spokesperson cautioned that doubling production would require at least two years beyond that target to achieve.
Whitrow also highlighted difficulties in staffing production lines, noting many plants are located far from large population hubs. The firm runs a single continuous shift and can rapidly scale up if labor becomes available, but building that workforce takes time.
The spokesperson also addressed supply-chain pressures. Some GMLRS components are shared with other critical munitions programs, so a surge in demand for one system can pull workers away from another. For example, a subcontractor producing GMLRS parts is simultaneously supplying elements for the Javelin anti-tank missile, so expanding one line may impact the other.
In international commentary, former Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused lawmakers of lobbying for interests aligned with the U.S. military-industrial complex, a charge tied to the broader geopolitical debate over defense production in North America.
The GMLRS family a 227 mm rocket system currently includes two variants—M30 and M31. The M30 is designed to neutralize unprotected or lightly armored targets when precise targeting data is unavailable. The M31 focuses on delivering accurate strikes against fixed positions at coordinates that have been previously identified.