US Army Awards Initial Contract for Patriot Configuration 3 Upgrade

Released on Monday, October 08, 2007

TEWKSBURY, Mass., Oct. 8, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has received a $150 million U.S. Army contract to begin the Patriot "Pure Fleet" modernization program bringing all Army Patriot equipment to state-of-the-art Patriot Configuration 3 status.

The initial contract provides for the upgrade of one battalion consisting of four fire units of Patriot hardware. "Pure Fleet" is the result of the Army's decision in February 2006 to upgrade additional tactical Patriot fire units.

"Upgrading Patriot fire units from Configuration 2 to Configuration 3 will enhance the system's capabilities to meet current and emerging threats," said Pete Franklin, vice president, National & Theater Security Programs for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.

"As the prime contractor for the Patriot system, Raytheon is committed to ensuring our Patriot systems continue to provide our warfighters with a superior, affordable and reliable air and missile defense capability to meet the Army's mission. The U.S. Army's upgrade to Configuration 3 will lead the way for our international partners in upgrading this self defense system."

The new contract calls for Raytheon to provide hardware upgrades to four Patriot radars, engagement control stations and launchers as well as enhanced logistics capability through support to a common configuration. Work will be performed at Raytheon's Integrated Air Defense Center, Andover, Mass.

Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) is the prime contractor for the Patriot system and the system integrator for the system that includes both the PAC-3 missile and the Guidance Enhanced Missile-T. As the system integrator, Raytheon IDS ensures that all Patriot system components provide the warfighter a reliable and lethal capability to defeat the threats in current and future combat environments.