Lockheed Martin opens next-generation interceptor facility in Courtland, Alabama

Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) has opened an 88,000-square-foot Missile Assembly Building 5 (MAB-5) in Courtland, Alabama, to produce the Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) for the Missile Defense Agency, expanding the nation’s layered missile defense architecture.

The purpose-built facility consolidates advanced digital manufacturing tools and smart processes, incorporating a digital twin methodology intended to reduce risk from design through sustainment. Automation and data-driven workflows are designed to ensure consistent, high-quality output while accelerating production and maintaining stringent quality and reliability standards.

In remarks highlighting the national security stakes, Director of Golden Dome for America Gen. Mike Guetlein, who leads the Department of Defense’s effort to develop a next-generation missile defense shield, said, “You are not just building infrastructure, you are building the Arsenal of Freedom. We are moving with purpose, with urgency, and we are moving out…we are forging the shield to secure the Homeland together.” He added, “Golden Dome for America is real, and it is not theoretical. We are building it right now in Courtland. We are taking proven, world-class capabilities, combining them with next-generation space-based tracking and advanced interceptors, and fusing them together with Artificial Intelligence.”

NGI is described as an open system interceptor that integrates with a layered defense network of space-based sensors, radars, command and control systems, and other interceptors. “Think of this as deterrence through defense,” said Christopher Jewell, NGI vice president and program manager at Lockheed Martin. “It sends a clear signal that threats can be detected, tracked and defeated before they ever reach their intended target.” Its modular architecture allows rapid incorporation of new technologies, including upgrades that can be performed while the missile remains in its silo. “NGI was designed from the start to adapt,” added Jewell. “Its digital foundation allows new technologies to be integrated more quickly, ensuring the system can stay ahead of emerging threats.”

Program work is transitioning from design to production, with key elements advancing through development testing and integration. Core technologies—such as the interceptor’s engagement capability, sensors, software, and propulsion—are demonstrating system-level performance and operation ahead of Critical Design Review.

MAB-5 is intended to streamline workflows, reduce unnecessary handling, and support the tighter tolerances required for complex components. Integrated digital tools connect design data directly to the factory floor to strengthen configuration control, quality assurance, and repeatability as production scales. “These facilities were intentionally designed around the system they produce,” Jewell said. “By aligning the factory to the product at the onset of development, we can improve quality, increase efficiency, adapt and ramp up production quicker as the system evolves.”

The company underscored its continued investment in Alabama, noting a presence in the region since 1963 and defense system production in Courtland since 1994. Lockheed Martin’s Troy, Alabama, facility will also support NGI through hardware integration and large-scale manufacturing, with the Courtland and Troy campuses forming the core of its missile defense readiness efforts. “The talent in north Alabama is the engine behind the next generation of our nation’s defense systems, and this project will create high-skill jobs and new career pathways while strengthening our local economy,” said U.S. Rep. Dale Strong. “This state-of-the-art facility will play a major role in protecting our homeland as well as reshaping Courtland’s role as a steady source of quality jobs and growth for the Tennessee Valley.”