Anna Forrester
Raytheon‘s updated Patriot Integrated Air and Missile Defense system has undergone initial flight tests by the U.S. Army to check the added functions and modifications of the system.
The company said Thursday the system’s Post-Deployment Build 8 configuration worked to detect, track and engage a ballistic missile target with PAC-3 and GEM-T missiles during each of the tests.
“PDB-8 can be retrofitted into Patriot fire units around the world and builds on the lessons learned from Patriot’s more than 190 combat employments, 700 flight tests and 2,500-plus ground tests,” said Ralph Acaba, vice president of integrated air and missile defense at Raytheon.
PDB-8 also includes new hardware such as the Modern Man Station user interface and Radar Digital Processor, the company added.
A 13-country Patriot partnership helped fund the development of the upgrade.
The Army will continue to conduct test and evaluation work on the system ahead of its fielding and inclusion in the Patriot inventory.
