Defense contractor L3Harris shares have fallen roughly 11% this year, underperforming defense peers by over 20 percentage points, following CEO Christopher Kubasik's abrupt departure amid allegations of inappropriate conduct with a subordinate. The company now trades at less than 16 times forward free cash flow, by far the cheapest among defense primes and 33% lower than the sector basket. Despite these headwinds, L3Harris remains indispensable to U.S. missile rearmament efforts.

The company is one of only two firms making solid rocket motors at scale, alongside Northrop Grumman, which are critical components for Patriot and Thaad interceptors that the U.S. has significantly depleted during the Iran conflict. L3Harris has secured framework agreements to quadruple Thaad propulsion production and nearly triple Patriot PAC-3 motor manufacturing over seven years, positioning it as a key player in rebuilding America's missile stockpile.