Date posted: 06/17/2009*

The 2009 Paris Air Show offers Raytheon an opportunity reaffirm the combat-proven Patriot system's place in the market as the world’s premier air and missile defense system.

“Let there be no doubt – Patriot is here to stay for a very long time,” said Sanjay Kapoor, vice president, Patriot Programs at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. “Continuous hardware and software upgrades, reopening production to build new Patriot systems, a steady stream of contracts, and expressed interest from potential new customers speak loudly for Patriot’s place in a world fraught with potential danger.”

Since Raytheon received a not-to-exceed $3.3 billion order from the U.S. Army to provide new Patriot systems for the United Arab Emirates last December, there has been a steady drum beat of contracts for Patriot maintenance, upgrades, spares, facilities, test equipment, and engineering services.

Patriot Presented as Best Solution

Kapoor and Skip Garrett, vice president and deputy, Patriot Programs, are in Paris to promote Patriot as the best solution for meeting current future air and missile defense requirements.

“Today’s Patriot is a robust system that is operationally flexible, cost effective, low risk, and schedule friendly,” Garrett told friends, allies, industry reporters and others in attendance at the Paris Air Show.

Today, 12 nations, including the United States, have chosen Patriot as their primary air and missile defense system. Partner nations include The Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Taiwan, Greece, Spain, South Korea, and the UAE.

Army Patriot Initiatives: “Pure Fleet and “Grow the Army”

The U.S. Army has two important Patriot initiatives underway – “Pure Fleet” and “Grow the Army.” Pure Fleet involves upgrading all its tactical fire units to Configuration-3, Patriot’s most advanced version. And Grow the Army adds two battalions to the force structure, providing greater flexibility and more assets to meet air and missile defense requirements.

As threats become more complex and lethal, advantages of having many partner nations include a shared voice in determining engineering changes and upgrades to meet and exceed technical requirements to ensure protection. Also, costs for and access to upgrades are shared among partners.

Interest in Upgrades Increases

In addition to new Patriot systems for the UAE, Taiwan, Kuwait and Japan are upgrading their existing Patriot systems to Configuration-3. Also, Greece and Saudi Arabia are interested in upgrades or additional fire units, and Turkey, Qatar and Poland are interested in acquiring Patriot protection.

As interest in Patriot grows and requirements for upgrades and new systems continue, suppliers benefit. And as Patriot becomes more pervasive around the world, international opportunities for shared work closer to customers are increasing. In April, Raytheon selected Roketsan, a Turkish defense company, as its first international supplier for a key component of the Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T).

Because Raytheon is platform agnostic, Patriot’s interoperability with other air and missile defense systems is another reason for the system’s appeal around the world.

Other Missile Defense Offerings

Raytheon also offers Stinger, Hawk XXI and the Surfaced Launched AMRAAM systems on the short-range end of the spectrum. For the upper-tier, high-altitude intercepts, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency is looking at the THAAD radar and a land-based version of Raytheon’s Standard Missile-3 as a solution for stopping ballistic missiles in mid-course.

With Patriot serving as an anchor of an integrated air and missile defense architecture, U.S., NATO and allied countries have the capability to confidently search and survey critical airspace, evaluate and classify potential targets, and, if necessary, engage threats with decisive results today and into the foreseeable future.

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