This large order benefits both customers with significant price reductions. For successive awards, Raytheon has successfully reduced the acquisition unit price for the U.S. Army.

"As the Global War on Terror wages on and budgets tighten, we are proud to be able to provide our warfighters with an affordable, highly accurate missile that can be counted on the first time, every time," said Pete Franklin, vice president for National and Theater Security Programs at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. "This GEM-T upgrade enables our troops to continue to rely on Raytheon's Patriot system to identify, track and eliminate airborne threats into the future."

GEM-T is a significant upgrade over the existing Patriot Advanced Configuration-2 (PAC-2) missile and, when fielded in conjunction with the Patriot Advanced Configuration-3 (PAC-3) system, provides a robust capability against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, aircraft and remotely piloted vehicles. GEM-T provides the U.S. Army and its allies with enhanced accuracy at a low cost.

GEM-T missiles are PAC-2 missiles that are refurbished and modernized at Raytheon's Integrated Air Defense Center, Andover, Mass. Through the upgrade process, older components are replaced, new technology inserted and reliability increased.

Raytheon IDS is the prime contractor for the Patriot system and the system integrator for the PAC-3 system that includes the GEM-T missile. As the system integrator, Raytheon IDS ensures that all Patriot system components provide the warfighter a reliable and lethal capability to defeat the threats in current and future combat environments.

The Patriot PAC-3 program is managed by the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space and executed by the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Project Office, Huntsville, Ala.

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