Kuwait Turkey could be the next customers for the U.S. Patriot missile air defense system 1706131

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Defence & Security Industry News - Raytheon

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Monday, June 17, 2013 08:36 PM
 
Kuwait and Turkey could be the next customers for the U.S. Patriot missile air defense system.
Raytheon Co. (RTN) said its Patriot technology is enjoying renewed demand that may help the world’s largest missile maker double its customer base for the air defense system. The system, which is already deployed in Turkey and Jordan to track air threats in Syria, is “going through a resurgence” that may lift the customer count from 12, Dan Crowley, president of the Waltham, Massachusetts-based Integrated Defense Systems unit, said in Paris today.
     
Raytheon Co. (RTN) said its Patriot technology is enjoying renewed demand that may help the world’s largest missile maker double its customer base for the air defense system. The system, which is already deployed in Turkey and Jordan to track air threats in Syria, is “going through a resurgence” that may lift the customer count from 12, Dan Crowley, president of the Waltham, Massachusetts-based Integrated Defense Systems unit, said in Paris today.
Patriot missiles stand guard over Gaziantep, Turkey

     

Negotiations to sell Patriot systems to Kuwait are near conclusion, said Sanjay Kapoor, vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Raytheon. The Pentagon estimates the accord has a value of as much as $4.2 billion.

Turkey is exploring a Patriot purchase as it considers options from western Europe, China, and Russia, Kapoor said, adding a deal may be completed this year.

Discussions are also taking place with Germany to upgrade its Patriot systems. The country is reviewing its air defense capabilities after dropping a plan with the U.S. and Italy to build the Medium Extended Air Defense System developed by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) and the European MBDA missile venture.

Germany has said it wants to make use of some of the technology developed in the tri-national effort, and Raytheon is not opposed to incorporating other systems, Kapoor said.

Contract negotiations are advancing in Oman for an export of the so-called Nasams air defense program first developed for Norway, Kapoor said. The system is designed to fire from the ground the so-called Amraam missile that was built for combat jets to shoot down planes.