The U.S. Army awarded Raytheon Company a 1 million contract to begin production of the combat-proven Patriotâ„¢ air and missile defense system for the Kingdom of Bahrain. The contract was awarded on January 31, 2020. Bahrain is the newest and 17th customer of the Patriot worldwide, including the United States. In 2019, Bahrain signed a letter of offer and acceptance with the U.S. government to buy the Patriot air and missile defense system, triggering contract negotiations for the foreign military sale between the U.S. and Patriot-maker Raytheon
“Raytheon’s Patriot provides the Kingdom of Bahrain and 16 other countries around the globe with a combat-proven system that protects citizens, infrastructure and armed forces from a broad spectrum of threats,” said Tom Laliberty, vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems business. “Patriot works, has saved countless lives, and will continue to do so for many years because the system is constantly tested, modernized, upgraded and improved to stay ahead of the advancing threat.”
Raytheon’s MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon and derives its name from the radar component of the weapon system. The AN/MPQ-53 at the heart of the system is known as the “Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target” which is a backronym for PATRIOT. Raytheon’s Patriot is the most advanced tactical air and missile defense system in the world, providing protection against a full range of advanced threats, including aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Since it was first fielded, Raytheon’s Patriot has been used by five nations in more than 250 combat engagements against manned and unmanned aircraft, cruise missiles, and tactical ballistic missiles. Since January of 2015, Patriot has intercepted more than 150 ballistic missiles in combat operations around the world; more than 90 of those intercepts involved the low-cost Raytheon-made Guidance Enhanced Missile family of surface-to-air missiles. Those engagements were possible because Patriot is built on a foundation of more than 3,000 ground tests and over 1,400 flight tests.
