Lockheed Martin to Add 2,000 Texas Jobs With $300 Million Grand Prairie Expansion
The defense contractor says it will expand its Grand Prairie missile parts plant and add automated machining as it races to build more interceptors.
Lockheed Martin said Wednesday it will invest $300 million to expand its missile manufacturing operation in Grand Prairie and create 2,000 jobs in Texas, according to the company. The Texas jobs are part of 6,000 the company plans nationwide as it ramps up production of critical munitions.
What is being built
The expansion will grow the Grand Prairie site to more than 735,000 square feet, the company said. That includes 100,000 square feet of new space and 85,000 square feet of office space being converted into advanced manufacturing.
The plant supports all of Lockheed's Missiles and Fire Control programs, including the PAC-3 MSE interceptor used with the Patriot system, THAAD, PrSM and JATM. It ships components to final-assembly sites in Camden, Arkansas, and Troy, Alabama.
Nearly 800 production employees work there now, and the plant made 250,000 parts in 2025. Lockheed says it has already installed more than 30 additional high-precision machines and expects to add nearly 100 by the end of 2026.
Robots on the floor
California manufacturer Hadrian will install a highly automated, 24-machine cell inside the plant, run by Lockheed's workforce. It is expected to be operating in early 2027, with more cells phased in over a seven-year agreement, according to a Hadrian news release cited by WFAA reported.
"We are going to triple to quadruple the total output of those munitions," Tim Cahill, president of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, told WFAA. "We are producing more of these systems today than we were a week ago, a month ago, a year ago."
The $300 million is part of an $8 billion to $9 billion commitment through 2030 to expand munitions production at more than 20 facilities nationwide, the company said. WFAA noted the push comes as conflicts from Ukraine to Iran strain the nation's munitions supply.
Why it matters for Texas
Two thousand new jobs is a meaningful addition for Texas, and Grand Prairie is at the center of it. The company did not say how quickly the jobs will be filled or what they will pay, so the real local impact will become clearer as hiring begins.
Cahill framed the work as deterrence. "Our job is to help deter these conflicts from ever happening," he said. Peace through strength is an old idea, and building the means of defense at home is part of it. For the broader picture, see our report on Texas job growth.
Hero photo: U.S. Air Force, 94th Airlift Wing/MEADS International, public domain (U.S. government work), cropped and resized.
