Army approval for new production Patriot

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TEWKSBURY, Mass., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Raytheon's new production Patriot Air and Missile Defense System has received U.S. Army approval following thorough testing of all modernized components.

"This approval validates the modernized Patriot system's 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."

Raytheon said the tests began last year and were conducted in challenging climatic and electromagnetic environments.

System performance "exceeded" expectations, the company said, but additional details weren't provided.

The Patriot air and missile defense system is used by a dozen countries and Raytheon is the prime contractor for it. Its original version first went into service in 1981.