“It is about the size of Costco,” Lockheed Martin Next Generation Interceptor and Space Vice President Sarah Reeves told AL.com, noting the company was pleased to “design a factory that is specific to this program.” The Next Generation Interceptor missile is designed to counter long-range ballistic threats from rogue nations, according to the company.
Reeves said around 100 workers will assemble and test missiles in the new building, which will be the fifth assembly plant on the Courtland campus. Overall, about 400 people are currently employed at the site, where Lockheed Martin has manufactured defence systems since 1994.
During a briefing at the Space & Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville last week, Reeves said the new facility could play a key role in Golden Dome, the Trump administration’s proposed national missile shield. She explained that missile components would be shipped to Courtland, integrated, and tested.
“We’ve done a lot of investment in Courtland over the last five years or so,” Reeves said. In 2021, the company opened a 65,000 square-foot missile assembly building to support hypersonic strike technologies, followed in 2023 by a $16.5 million, 25,000 square-foot missile system integration lab in Huntsville.
“In 2023 we partnered with the city of Courtland to transition its part-time fire department into full time service ensuring there’s 24/7 emergency response,” Reeves added. The company also received a $1.8 million state grant to improve nearby highway infrastructure “so, we continue to build more missiles there,” she said.
“We’ve been building up the infrastructure and support services with it,” Reeves said. “We also have an advanced manufacturing technician apprenticeship program which hires and trains local talent to work on the systems that defend our nation like NGI. We are now on our 29th class and so we’ve hired 200 north Alabamians as part of that program.”
Reeves said north Alabama is “really where the rubber hits the ground” for Lockheed Martin’s NGI production. “We’re excited about the growth that NGI has brought to northern Alabama,” she said. “The talent that the city has really influenced our ability to deliver on this critical mission.”
Source: al.com.
