Boeing, Northrop, Lockheed pitch cheaper US munitions

Summary: At the Space and Missile Defense Symposium and Farnborough, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin unveiled lower-cost missile and drone-defense options, including a COTS-based seeker for a PAC-3 hit-to-kill guidance approach and a proximity-detonation Patriot variant. Defense experts said these cheaper options are unlikely to fix US munitions shortages tied to the Iran war in the near term, though they could expand future choices if contracts are awarded quickly.