WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE,
N.M., Nov. 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --
The U.S. Army successfully completed the first in a series of
flight tests for the latest upgrades to the Raytheon Company (NYSE:
RTN)-made Patriot Integrated Air and Missile Defense
system.
The upgrades, collectively known as Post-Deployment Build 8
(PDB-8), improve Patriot's ability to destroy all categories of
threats, differentiate between friendly and enemy aircraft, and
make Patriot easier for soldiers to operate. PDB-8 is slated
for fielding in the near future. Much of PDB-8's development was
funded by the 13-nation Patriot partnership, which will have the
opportunity to incorporate PDB-8 into their Patriot inventory after
U.S. Army testing and Materiel Release.
"Because countries share in the investment of upgrades, Patriot
is able to stay ahead of the continually evolving and improving
threats we are seeing in Eastern
Europe, the Middle East and
Asia," said Ralph Acaba, Raytheon vice president of
Integrated Air and Missile Defense. "Like all other Patriot
upgrades, PDB-8 can be retro-fitted into the 220-plus 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."
During the flight test, operators used a PDB-8 configured
Patriot battery to detect and track a ballistic missile target. The
operators then successfully engaged the target with two different
kinds of missiles -- a PAC-3 and a GEM-T. A short while
later, operators repeated the process, this time successfully
engaging a different ballistic missile target with two GEM-T
missiles.
PDB-8 is currently undergoing U.S. government testing and
evaluation. Additional flight- and ground- testing against a
variety of targets will be conducted before PDB-8 is phased into
the Patriot inventory.
PDB-8 also represents the first U.S. Army fielding of two new
major pieces of hardware:
- Modern Man Station (MMS),
a user interface with color LCD displays, touch screens and soft
keys.
- Radar Digital Processor (RDP), a ruggedized commercial
off-the-shelf processor. RDP increase Patriot's already high
reliability by 40 percent. RDP also costs less to maintain
and operate because it has fewer parts. And, RDP enables
future capabilities through software upgrades.
Although a number of Patriot partner nations have already
fielded MMS and RDP, PDB-8 takes full advantages of the hardware
upgrades. As a result, the U.S. Army and other PDB-8 users will
have the following features and benefits in their Patriot
systems:
- Enhanced capability against a variety of threats.
- An improved Identification Friend or Foe capability
- Improved radar search capability.
- Improved target detection and identification
- A redesigned Fire Solution Computer, which enables
Patriot to take advantage of the PAC-3 MSE missile
capabilities.
- An Enhanced Weapons Control Computer which provides up
to 50 percent additional processing power for software enhancements
to address evolving threats.
About Global Patriot Solutions
Raytheon's Global Patriot Solutions is the most advanced
portfolio of air and missile defense technologies in the world,
providing comprehensive protection against a full range of advanced
threats including aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, cruise
missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. Patriot is continually
upgraded and enhanced to leverage the latest technology. Thirteen
nations depend on Patriot as the foundation for their
defense.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2014 sales of $23
billion and 61,000 employees worldwide, is a technology and
innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and
cybersecurity markets throughout the world. With a history of
innovation spanning 93 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art
electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in
the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications
and intelligence systems, as well as cybersecurity and a broad
range of mission support services. Raytheon is headquartered in
Waltham, Mass. For more about
Raytheon, visit us at www.raytheon.com and follow us on Twitter
@Raytheon.
Media Contact
Mike Nachshen
+1.520.269.5697
idspr@raytheon.com
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SOURCE Raytheon Company