Raytheon in Kuwait, SKorea missile-defense deals

Raytheon Co said Tuesday it had received more than $200 million in contracts related to its Patriot air and missile defense system, including deals involving Kuwait, South Korea and the U.S. Army. For Kuwait, the company said it was awarded a $156 million deal through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales programme to provide Patriot Configuration-3 radar upgrade kits and related engineering and technical services. For South Korea, Raytheon said it received a $38.5 million contract to upgrade 64 Korean Patriot Advanced Capability-2 missiles to so-called Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical, or GEM-T, configuration. This would boost capability against ballistic and cruise missiles, aircraft and remotely piloted vehicles, Sanjay Kapoor, vice president of Patriot programmes for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems business unit, said in a statement. "This upgrade is designed to enhance system capabilities to meet current and emerging threats," Kapoor said. The South Korea deal was received from COMLOG, a joint venture between Raytheon and the German missile company LFK. It followed the sale of Patriot systems from the German Ministry of Defense to South Korea's Air Force. A third contract for $34.4 million was received from the U.S. Army for additional upgrades as part of a $310 million "Pure Fleet" modernization programme designed to bring all its Patriot equipment to state-of-the-art Patriot Configuration-3 status, said Anne Marie Squeo, a Raytheon spokeswoman.