Raytheon [RTN] said this week its new-production testing has received Army approval after rigorous testing of every component of the modernized system.
During the tests, the company said that Patriot performance consistently exceeded expectations in all eight flight tests in a variety of terrain and weather conditions.
“This approval validates the modernized patriot systems’ readiness to counter evolving threats and protect warfighters and allies in a combat situation,” said Sanjay Kapoor, vice president for Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems Business. “This will only build on the confidence that our Patriot partners have in the system’s performance and reliability, a confidence we look forward to extending to the partners who join the Patriot family.”
One of the 12 Patriot nation partners is Japan and the Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, which continued its successful test firings Sept. 22-Nov. 3 during its annual training exercise at McGregor Range, N.M. The exercise included engaging targets and firing Patriot in tactical scenarios.
In late October, the Patriot system detected, tracked and successfully intercepted a short-range ballistic missile target with a PAC-3 interceptor and a low-flying cruise missile target over water.
This was part of the Missile Defense Agency’s largest integrated live fire missile defense exercise ever conducted (Defense Daily, Oct. 26).