American defense group Raytheon announced on Friday that it signed a USD 396 million contract with US Army for the production of Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) system for Romania.
Announced by the Department of Defense on May 24, the contract calls for Raytheon to build Romania’s first brand-new Patriot fire unit.
“We are using what we have learned in building 220 fire units and to meet Romania’s Patriot fielding schedule,” said Tom Laliberty, vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems business.
Raytheon has already ordered thousands of critical long-lead items from hundreds of suppliers, and begun production of critical electronic components, machined parts and circuit card assemblies and cables.
Patriot is the backbone of NATO and Europe’s defense against ballistic and cruise missiles, advanced aircraft and drones.
US, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, and Spain currently have Patriot systems.
On November 29, 2017, Romania signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance for Patriot, making it the 6th NATO member state to procure Patriot.
Raytheon’s Patriot is a missile defense system consisting of radars, command-and-control technology and multiple types of interceptors, all working together to detect, identify and defeat tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, advanced aircraft and other threats. Patriot is the foundation of integrated air and missile defense for 15 nations.