Lockheed Martin Wins $945 Million to Provide PAC-3 MSE Missiles to Qatar, Saudi Arabia

Lockheed Martin was awarded a $945 million modification contract for the initial Fiscal 2018 PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) production option exercise, including 54 US Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles, 24 Qatar MSE missiles, 130 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Cost Reduction Initiative (CRI) missiles and associated ground support equipment.

Work is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2021, the US department of defense said in a statement Thursday.

The Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) is a high velocity, hit-to-kill, surface-to-air missile capable of intercepting and destroying Tactical Ballistic Missiles (TBM) and air-breathing threats. The PAC-3 MSE is the follow-on variant of the PAC-3 missile. The PAC-3 MSEs improved capability is achieved through a higher performance solid rocket motor, modified lethality enhancer, more responsive control surfaces, upgraded guidance software, and insensitive munitions improvements.

The PAC-3 MSE employs kinetic energy to destroy targets through a hit-to-kill capability and provides the range, accuracy, and lethality to effectively defend against TBMs armed with weapons of mass destruction as well as providing expanded battlespace performance against complex threats. The PAC-3 MSE is being integrated into the Patriot system requiring minor modifications to the launching station and using currently fielded system software, Post Deployment Build (PDB)-7.