What is PAC-3?
PAC-3 is a type of interceptor missile cited in discussions of air-defense economics and production capacity. The material tracks a shift toward scaling output and the cost asymmetry between interceptors and the drones they are used against.
Release history
- Sep 2026 - Joe Weisenthal said PAC-3 interceptors are going from 620 a year to 2,000 per year.
- Sep 2026 - Weisenthal said he needs systems where he is not spending $4.1 million to shoot down a $30,000 drone.
- Sep 2026 - Weisenthal said that in Iran, adversaries are starting to run the United States out of some of these exquisite interceptors and munitions.
- Sep 2026 - An unnamed speaker said cheaper versions cannot simply be made because the interceptors perform very specific advanced functions at the edge of their capabilities across multiple technology areas, and cannot be made in a garage.
In the discourse
Attributed discussion of PAC-3.
Joe Weisenthal on the cost asymmetry driving demand for cheap interceptors and directed-energy weapons.
“I need systems where I'm not spending $ 4. 1 million to shoot down a $ 30, 000 drone.”Joe Weisenthal · 4 Sep 2026
PAC-3 interceptor production is being scaled from 620 to 2,000 units per year.
“PAC-3 interceptors going from 620 a year to 2000 per year.”Joe Weisenthal · 4 Sep 2026
The core economic problem in modern air defense: cheap mass-produced drones can exhaust expensive exquisite interceptor stockpiles, forcing the U.S. to seek lower-cost alternatives while still maintaining high-end missiles for hypersonic threats.
“That's what we're seeing a lot in Iran right now, is they're just starting to just run us out of some of these exquisite interceptors and munitions.”Joe Weisenthal · 4 Sep 2026
PAC-3 interceptors cannot be cheaply replicated via commercial methods because they operate at the edge of multiple advanced technology areas simultaneously, making garage-scale production impossible.
“You can't just make cheaper versions of them. They do very specific advanced kinds of things operating at the edge of their capabilities and multiple technology areas and the way that they work once they're in the air. This isn't something you can just make in your garage.”<UNKNOWN> · 17 Sep 2026