The Pentagon announced on Friday that the U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a multi-year contract worth $4.5 billion for its air defence Patriot Missiles system. The Patriot system is one of an array of sophisticated air defence units supplied by the West to help Ukraine continue its defence against Russia’s invasion. The contract covers 870 PAC-3 MSE missiles and associated hardware.
According to Army budget documents, Lockheed is manufacturing the newest version of the interceptors that arm the Patriot, known as PAC-3 MSE. Each of these sophisticated missiles, which cost about $4 million each, is a testament to the significant financial investment in this contract, as reported by Reuters.
The Patriot air defence system is a long-range, all-altitude, all-weather system designed to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and advanced aircraft. It is manufactured by Raytheon in Massachusetts and Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Florida, US. The Patriot system is used by the US and other allied countries, including Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Poland, Sweden, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Romania, Spain, and Taiwan. During the 2003 Iraq conflict, US forces deployed the Patriot missile systems in Kuwait. The systems successfully destroyed several hostile surface-to-surface missiles using the new Patriot advanced capability-3 (PAC-3) and guidance-enhanced missiles.
Last week, the White House announced it would prioritise deliveries of newly manufactured Patriot missiles to Ukraine over other countries. The White House did not specify which countries would be affected by this decision but mentioned that it would not apply to Israel or Taiwan. Earlier this month, during the G7 summit in Italy, US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a ten-year defence pact. Biden mentioned that five countries had agreed to supply air defence systems to Ukraine.
Team BharatShakti
