Low-Cost Patriot PAC-3 ACE Missile Gets Simplified Motor and Seeker

The low-cost PAC-3 ACE missile, introduced by Lockheed Martin, features simplified components, particularly the motor and seeker.

Janes reported on this.

The main differences are a simplified seeker, the elimination of kinetic interception, and a simpler rocket motor.

In the standard PAC-3 MSE, these components are more complex and therefore more expensive, as the missile was designed to intercept modern ballistic missiles.

The missile was unveiled at the 2026 Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom.

According to Lockheed Martin Vice President Jason Reynolds, the company aims to reduce the cost of the PAC-3 ACE to less than half that of the PAC-3 MSE.

To do so, engineers simplified several missile components. In particular, it will feature a simplified seeker system compared with the PAC-3 MSE. Lockheed Martin did not specify what type of seeker it will use.

The new missile will also omit the Attitude Control Motors (ACMs) used on the PAC-3 MSE. The company also simplified the missile’s midsection.

Another change will be the propulsion system. The PAC-3 ACE will use a single-mode solid-fuel rocket motor instead of the dual-pulse motor used by the PAC-3 MSE. Lockheed Martin is also considering the use of cheaper rocket motor casings.

A key difference will be the warhead. Instead of the hit-to-kill approach, which destroys the target through direct kinetic impact, the PAC-3 ACE will feature a blast-fragmentation warhead.

According to Reynolds, such a warhead reduces the need for terminal trajectory-correction systems, particularly ACMs or thrust-vector control systems.

At the same time, the PAC-3 ACE will retain the PAC-3 software used in the PAC-3 MSE. Lockheed Martin says the new missile is designed to counter aerodynamic targets, cruise missiles, and short-range ballistic missiles.

Militarnyi previously reported that the first flight test of the new low-cost PAC-3 ACE interceptor was expected in 18 months, with serial production set to begin “within a few years.”