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Patriot TMD - Units

Each Fire Unit consists of up to 16 M901 Launching Stations with a total of 64 PAC-2 Missiles [or four times that number of PAC-3], along with an Antenna Mast Group, a Radar Set AN/MPQ-53 phased array, an Electric Power Plant, and an AN/MSQ-104 Engagement Control Station.

Each US Army Patriot battalion consists of four firing units [batteries] doctrinally armed with six launchers. Each launcher is either Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-2 capable or PAC-3 capable, the difference being in numberand type of missiles or interceptors that it can fire. PAC-3 launchers are capable of holding four PAC-3 pods, each of which holds four PAC-3 interceptors. PAC-2 launchers are capable of holding four PAC-2 pods, each of which holds one PAC-2 interceptor. In total, a battery fully armed with PAC-3 launchers and PAC-3 interceptors could ideally control a total of 96 interceptors, whereas a fully PAC-2 armed battery could control a total of 24 interceptors.

The annual operation and sustainment costs for a single US Army Patriot battalion are between $49 million and $54 million. The minimum would be $14.7 billion spread over 15 battalions is $980 million; $980 million divided over 20 years is $49 million annually. The maximum would be $16.2 billion spread over 15 battalions is $1.08 billion; $1.08 billion divided over 20 years is $54 million annually.

There were only nine PATRIOT battalions in the U.S. Army, and in the eighties, they were stationed either in the United States or in Germany. In 1990, although the PATRIOT had been developed as an antiaircraft rather than an anti-missile system, when Iraq invaded Kuwait and threatened Saudi Arabia, American PATRIOT units were deployed to the Arabian Peninsula to help protect allied nations and coalition forces from Iraqi SCUD missiles.

In November 2000, the Patriot office awarded its third Low Rate Initial Production contract with Lockheed Martin to produce an additional 40 PAC-3 missiles. The basic contract in December 1997 began with 20 missiles. Then the second LRIP came in two phases that included 32 missiles. At full rate production, the missiles are estimated to cost about $2 million each, with an expected inventory of about 800.

The Army received the first 16 PAC-3s -- a full launcher load -- in September 2001. A battalion stationed at Fort Bliss near El Paso got 16 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles in late September 2001. The Army is authorized to produce the missiles at a rate of 72 a year, and Congress authorize an increase to 96 per year in fiscal 2003. The plan is to eventually produce 144 a year, leading to a total inventory of 1,159 interceptors. Unable to certify that the PAC-3 interceptor was ready for stepped-up production, in mid-2002 Pentagon put off the decision for at least a year, and planned on further testing once fixes are in place.

By early 2000 the cost of each PAC-3 missile had increased from $1.9 million to over $4 million, and the estimated total program cost had risen from $3.9 billion to $6.9 billion. After design and manufacturing modifications were initiated to control costs, the estimted cost per missile dropped to about $3 million, and as of mid-2002 program officials expected to reduce the unit cost to $2 million.

A single four-pack of PAC-3 Missiles, containing two PAC-3s and two missile simulators, was delivered to the U.S. Army at the end of May 2002. Lockheed Martin delivered the first Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missiles from its new production facility in Camden, Ark., on schedule and on budget. The first tactical PAC-3 Missile four-pack was delivered from Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control's Camden Operations in June 2002. The PAC-3 Missile Low-Rate Initial Production-1 (LRIP-1) contract called for the delivery of 32 PAC-3 Missiles, 11 Patriot Launcher Modification Kits and 18 Fire Solution Computers. Eight of the Launcher Modification Kits and all of the Fire Solution Computers on the LRIP-1 contract had already been delivered. The final missile delivery for LRIP-1 occured at the end of 2002. The Launcher Modification Kits and Fire Solution Computers are fabricated and assembled at the Missiles and Fire Control facility in Lufkin, Texas.

In August 2002 the US declared the PAC-3 combat-ready, and released to the field the 36 missiles built so far. Lockheed Martin builds the PAC-3 at its Missiles and Fire Control unit in Dallas. The company had four contracts to produce 164 missiles, including 72 for the fiscal year ending 30 September 2002. A fifth contract in October 2002 would be worth as much as $250 million for 72 more missiles. The Army was initially authorized to manufacture 72 missiles per year, but in 2003 Congress increased PAC-3 production to 96 missiles. The Army planned to build an inventory of 1,159 interceptors. Plans to purchase up to 1,300 missiles would be potentially worth about $2.5 billion.

As of late October 2002 the Army had taken delivery of 38 PAC-3 missiles, with another 15 due for delivery by December. The military was under contract to receive an additional 126 missiles over the 2003-2004 period. Congress increased the fiscal year 2003 budget request for PAC-3 of 72 missiles by an additional 48 missiles. In late November 2002, DOD approved plans to double PAC-3 monthly production rates, with the number of missiles increasing from four to eight per month after more manufacturing equipment and a second shift of personnel were added. DOD would acquire 108 PAC-3 missiles in FY 2004.

In early December 2002 Germany confirmed an offer to lend two Patriot missile batteries to Israel, Ha'aretz reported today. Officials planned to deliver the missiles within a few weeks, the German Defense Ministry said. "The historic and moral values of German obligate us to do this," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said. "The security of Israel and its citizens is very important to Germany."

In January 2003 Lockheed Martin received a contract for $341 million from the U. S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) for the production of the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile. Under the contract, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control will produce 88 PAC-3 Missiles plus other associated hardware. Production of all equipment will take place at the company's manufacturing facilities in Dallas and Lufkin, Texas, and the PAC-3 Missile All-Up Round facility in Camden, Ark.

In March 2003 Lockheed Martin received $100 million from the U. S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) to accelerate production of the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile and to buy an additional 12 missiles in fiscal year 2003. The funding is in addition to a $341 million contract for 88 PAC-3 Missiles and associated hardware awarded to Lockheed Martin in December 2002. A total of 100 missiles will be procured in FY 2003. The acceleration effort will provide additional critical manpower and second-shift operations throughout the supplier chain, accelerate delivery of contracted materials and provide for additional test equipment. Missiles produced under the LRIP-2 and LRIP-3 contracts will now be delivered nine months ahead of the original schedule.

The overall procurement objective of 1,159 PAC-3 missiles remained unchanged. The larger purchases in FY-03 and FY-04 may be offset by lower production in FY-08 and FY-09. Instead of buying 216 missiles in each of those years, DOD would receive 184 units annually.

In September 2003 it was announced that 1-43 Air Defense Artillery Battalion (Patriot) had received new equipment to improve its current capability from the Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) to the Patriot Advanced Capability -3 (PAC-3) as a part of the Army's transformation and modernization program in support of the Theater Missile Defense Plan. The upgraded Patriot System will bring enhanced defensive capabilities to the peninsula as well as contribute to the overall deterrence US forces bring to the alliance. The PAC-3 provides for the enhanced defenses for Republic of Korea and U.S. forces and facilities.

PATRIOT battalions with PAC-3 fire units were employed in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) against TBMs. In OIF, PAC-3 interceptors were ripple-fired against ballistic missile threats, a user requirement that was not demonstrated during operational testing. This eliminated the need for a follow-on test to demonstrate this capability. All PATRIOT engagements were conducted in a complex operational environment. There were three instances of erroneous engagements between PATRIOT batteries and friendly aircraft. System performance against TBMs appeared to have been highly effective and consistent with expectations documented in DOT&E's beyond low-rate initial production report submitted to Congress in October 2002. PATRIOT performance during OIF was detailed in the classified FY03 BMDS annual report. In February 2004 Lockheed Martin received production contracts totaling $505 million for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missiles and related support equipment. The contracts called for Lockheed Martin to produce a total of 159 PAC-3 Missiles, which includes 22 PAC-3 Missiles to replenish the Patriot missiles expended during Operation Iraqi Freedom. In addition to the 159 PAC-3 Missiles, the contracts call for production of additional PAC-3 Missile Segment ground equipment, including six Enhanced Launcher Electronics Systems (ELES) and nine Fire Solution Computers. The U.S. Army Aviation & Missile Command, Huntsville, Ala., is the contracting agency. Delivery of all equipment and missiles would be completed by April 2006.

In April 2004, the 35th Air Defense Brigade begun relocating from Fort Bliss, TX to South Korea. The move was reported to be complete as of late-November 2004. The Brigade was to be headquartered at Osab AB, while the unit's two missile batteries would be stationed at Kwanju Airbase. The unit deploywed with its complements of new Patriot PAC-3 missile batteries. The six batteries already stationed in South Korea, and equipped with PAC-1 or PAC-2 missiles were to remain in country and fall underh the 35th ADA Brigade.

In November 2004 there were no major issues during the Patriot PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement preliminary design review, which was followed by one more review, the critical design review, in late summer 2005. The U.S. Army planned to equip each U.S. Patriot fire unit with six PAC-2 and two PAC-3 launchers.

As the Patriot force converts entirely to PAC-3 (becomes pure fleeted), there are clear benefits. Benefits in logistics and training area are some of the most important. Pure fleeting overcomes the mixed-configuration burden of having to buy, stock and ship two separate repair parts inventories. The current mixed configuration of the fleet adversely impacts the training and expertise of Soldiers in repair military occupational specialties (MOS), a consideration when assigning the right personnel to repair each equipment configuration.

To remedy deficiencies identified in OIF and to support current operations, Congress has resourced nine capability upgrades, the final of which will began fielding to Patriot units in FY07. These remedies include upgraded air-to-ground communications, improved software affecting classification, identification, friend or foe (IFF) enhancements, Link-16 joint range extension, embedded data recorder replacement, radar shroud monitor, battery command post acceleration, upgrades to AMD training centers, and software-driven improvements in training scenarios to address spurious tracks and track correlation.

The Patriot recapitalization program improves operational capability by bringing existing Patriot assets to a "like-new" (zero-miles/zero-hours) state; thereby achieving OSD's Set the Force objectives and enabling the Army to meet future combatant commander requirements. The recapitalization program is planned and fully funded in FY07-10, and funding shortfalls for FY11-13 are being addressed by Headquarters, Department of the Army.

As of 2007 PAC-2 units were not deploying in support of rotations to replace units in Korea and other locations because they had not been trained or certified on PAC-3 and cannot "fall-in on" the PAC-3 units' equipment. To be eligible, PAC-2 units would have to train to standard on PAC-3 equipment before a rotation, requiring a minimum of four weeks of training (not including crew certifications to Tables V to VIII standards). That means PAC-2 units would have to borrow PAC-3 equipment for several months for conversion and deployment preparation training. This complex situation was further complicated by recent re-stationing and transformation efforts. The result is that some PAC-2 and Patriot-based AMD composite battalions (Patriot and Avenger mixed) are not collocated with PAC-3 units, limiting their access to PAC-3 equipment. Pure fleeting will resolve major logistical challenges and make all ADA battalions deployable and eligible for PAC-3 unit rotations.

In August 2007 Lockheed Martin recognized delivery of the 500th PAC-3 Missile to the U.S. Army during a celebration at the PAC-3 Missile production facility in Camden, AR. PAC-3 Missiles had been delivered and deployed around the world with U.S. forces and U.S. allies.

In October 2007 Lockheed Martin delivered the first PAC-3 Missiles to government and military representatives of The Netherlands in a ceremony held at its manufacturing facility in Camden, AR. The Netherlands became the "launch," or first international customer, to buy the PAC-3 Missile in 2005, when it purchased missiles through a Foreign Military Sales contract with the U.S. government. The Netherlands is the first international launch customer for the PAC-3 Missile.

In December 2007, Raytheon IDS received a $310 million U.S. Army contract to upgrade eight Patriot fire units to Patriot Advanced Configuration-3 (PAC-3) as part of the "Pure Fleet" modernization program. Pure Fleet is the result of the Army's decision in February 2006 to upgrade additional tactical Patriot fire units from Configuration-2 to Configuration-3. The upgrade is designed to enhance the system's capabilities to meet current and emerging threats. Work will be performed at Raytheon's Integrated Air Defense Center, Andover, Mass. This Pure Fleet contract followed an initial $150 million U.S. Army award to Raytheon earlier in 2007 to upgrade four Patriot fire units.

In January 2008 the NATO Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) Management Agency awarded a $66 million contract to incorporate the Lockheed Martin PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) Missile as the baseline interceptor for the tri-national program. The new interceptor increases the system's range and lethality over the baseline PAC-3 Missile, which was selected as the primary missile for MEADS when the design and development program began in 2004.

In January 2008 Lockheed Martin received contracts totaling $556 million from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) for hardware and services associated with the combat-proven Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile program. The contracts include production of 148 hit-to-kill PAC-3 Missiles, 17 launcher modification kits, spares and other equipment, as well as program management and engineering services. Production of all equipment will take place at Lockheed Martin manufacturing facilities in Dallas and Lufkin, TX, Chelmsford, MA, Ocala, FL, and the PAC-3 All-Up Round facility in Camden, AR.

Deliveries on the contracts will be completed by July 2010. As part of these contracts, Lockheed Martin will be producing and delivering equipment to begin upgrading all U.S. Army Patriot fire units to the current Configuration-3 capability (two PAC-3 launchers per fire unit), allowing all fire units in the Patriot fleet to be capable of firing the PAC-3 Missile. This U.S. Army initiative, called "Pure Fleet," was launched in 2006 and will provide consistency across the fleet for the user anywhere Patriot is deployed or trained.

The FY09 Army budget request of $512.1 million procured 108 PAC-3 missiles and 8 Electric Power Plants (EPP).

The Patriot force will complete re-organization in accordance with the Army G 3/5/7-approved January 2005 Force Design Update, which implements a force structure of thirteen Patriot-based battalions consisting of one headquarters battery and four battery battalions. Of these thirteen battalions, six will be composite AMD battalions (PAC-3 and Avenger), and seven will be pure Patriot battalions (four PAC-3 battalions and three PAC-2 battalions). While the Army National Guard will no longer possess Patriot force structure, the Compo I Patriot force will grow from 50 to 52 batteries/fire units in FY07. In 2006 only 40 of the 42 AC Patriot batteries were funded for upgrades to PAC-3, allowing for a mixed force of battalions with significantly different capabilities. The Chief of Staff of the Army approved a Pure Fleet Plan that would bring all 13 Patriot battalions to PAC-3 Configuration by the end of FY09.




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