The U.S. Department of Defense has announced on May 25, 2018, the contract calls for Raytheon to build Romania's first brand-new Patriot air defense missile fire unit Configuration 3+. In July 2017, the U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Romania for Patriot air defense systems, related support and equipment. The estimated cost is $3.9 billion.
Soldiers assigned to Battery D, 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment test and validate the recent upgrades to a Patriot launching station Aug. 3 at Osan Air Base, South Korea. (Picture source U.S. MoD)
The Government of Romania has requested the possible sale of seven (7) Patriot Configuration-3+ Modernized Fire Units consisting of: seven (7) AN/MPQ-65 radar sets, seven (7) AN/MSQ-132 engagement control stations, thirteen (13) antenna mast groups, twenty-eight (28) M903 launching stations, fifty-six (56) Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missile-TBM (GEM-T) missiles, one hundred and sixty-eight (168) Patriot Advanced Capabilty-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles, and seven (7) Electrical Power Plants (EPP) III. Also included with this request are communications equipment, tools and test equipment, support equipment, prime movers, generators, publications and technical documentation, training equipment, spare and repair parts, personnel training, TAFT team, U.S. Government and contractor technical, engineering, and logistics support services, Systems Integration and Checkout (SICO), field office support, and other related elements of logistics and program support.
In January 2018, the government of Romania had signed an agreement to purchase Raytheon’s combat-proven Patriot™ Integrated Air and Missile Defense System from the U.S. Army.
"We are using what we have learned in building 220 fire units and to meet Romania's Patriot fielding schedule," said Tom Laliberty, vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business.
According to Raytheon, Romania will receive the Patriot Configuration 3+, the most advanced configuration available, as well as an undisclosed quantity of GEM-T and PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles. These interceptors will enable Romania’s military to defeat current and emerging threats.
The 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. Patriot uses an advanced aerial interceptor missile and high performance radar systems. The latest generation of Patriot launcher uses the PAC-3 missile produced by the Company Lockheed Martin. The PAC-3 Missile is a high velocity interceptor that defeats incoming targets by direct, body-to-body impact. The PAC-3 can be used to intercept ballistic missiles with a range from 15 to 20 km.
