US Navy arming warships with Patriot missiles to counter China’s hypersonic threat
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Demand for the US Patriot missile system has surged. Production of the interceptor is set to triple over the next seven years, from about 600 missiles annually to more than 2,000.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Lockheed Martin secured a contract to integrate the Army's Patriot missile (PAC-3 MSE) into the US Navy's Aegis system, deploying it at sea for the first time.
- This strengthens naval defence against China's hypersonic weapons. PAC-3 MSE's "hit to kill" concept is lethal against high-speed ballistic missiles.
- Demand for Patriot missiles has surged; production will triple from 600 to over 2,000 annually in the next seven years.
AI generated
WASHINGTON – Lockheed Martin has been awarded a contract to integrate the Patriot missile, a US Army missile interceptor, into the US Navy’s Aegis combat system, a milestone the company said on April 21 marks the first time the weapon will be fielded at sea.
Reuters was first to report in October 2024 that the navy was moving forward with plans to arm its vessels with Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors, driven by fears that China would deploy hypersonic weapons to sink ships in the Pacific.
The deployment will strengthen the missile defence shield protecting the navy’s fleet of destroyers. Lockheed Martin has pursued the integration for several years, but the new contract marks the first concrete step towards fielding the army interceptor on navy surface ships.
The rationale for the move has been building for years. As Reuters reported in 2024, PAC-3s are more agile than existing navy interceptors, and their “hit to kill” concept – in which the missile strikes its target directly rather than exploding nearby – makes it particularly lethal against high-speed manoeuvring ballistic missiles.
The PAC-3 MSE could provide an additional layer of protection for Aegis-equipped warships, which currently rely on interceptors from the Standard Missile family – including SM-2, SM-3 and SM-6 – as well as the RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile.
Demand for the Patriot weapon has surged. Under a deal signed between Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon in January, production of the interceptor is set to triple over the next seven years, increasing from about 600 missiles annually to more than 2,000. REUTERS
