Raytheon Company has received a $1.7 billion direct commercial sales contract to upgrade Saudi Arabia’s Patriot air and missile defence system to the latest configuration-3. The award includes ground system hardware, a full training package and support equipment upgrades.

“Raytheon is honoured to provide the most technologically advanced air and missile defence system in the world to Saudi Arabia,” said Tom Kennedy, President of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS). “We are pleased that, with this contract, they have shown further confidence in Raytheon and the superior air and missile defence capabilities of the Patriot system.”

Patriot is the affordable, low-risk and effective air and missile defence system of choice of 12 countries around the globe. The newly redesigned Patriot protects against a full range of advanced threats, including aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and UAVs.