New Arkansas facility will begin producing SkyHunter interceptors by early 2026

A new missile facility in Camden, AR will begin producing SkyHunter interceptors in late 2025 or early 2026 for a developing Marine Corps air defense system, according to Ground Based Air Defense Program Manager Col. Andrew Konicki.

In February, RTX Technologies and Israeli company Rafael broke ground on the facility, which will eventually produce Tamir interceptors for the Israeli Iron Dome and SkyHunter missiles for the Marine Corps’ developing Medium Range Intercept Capability.

“We're tracking right now that the facility is going to be up online within calendar year 2025, so, the latter end of 2025 and then they'll start producing things there towards the tail end of 2025 and into calendar year 2026,” Konicki told Inside Defense today during the Modern Day Marine conference in Washington.

The Marine Corps has been working with industry to establish a domestic source of MRIC interceptors. SkyHunter is “essentially the same thing” as the Tamir missile, Konicki said, sharing about 95-99% commonality.

MRIC is a system “derivative” of Iron Dome that is being “Americanized” for use by the Marine Corps in detecting, tracking and shooting down cruise missile threats, he continued.

The Marine Corps’ FY-25 budget request includes $111 million for the program to support the purchase of 12 launchers and 242 missiles as it transitions from rapid prototyping to rapid fielding.

The service plans to begin fielding an initial MRIC battery in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 following a quick reaction assessment scheduled for September, Konicki confirmed.