By Shivansh Tiwary and Mike Stone
(Reuters) -The U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $9.8 billion contract for Patriot missiles, the company said on Wednesday, as demand for the missile defense interceptor from the U.S. and foreign militaries continues.
It is the largest order ever of Patriot missiles. Lockheed is manufacturing the newest version of the interceptors that arm the Patriot, known as PAC-3 MSE, which cost about $4 million each, according to Army budget documents.
The Patriot system is among the sophisticated air defense units supplied by the West to Ukraine as it continues to fight Russia’s invasion and could be employed in U.S. President Donald Trump’s Golden Dome missile defense shield.
The highly agile Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors produced under the contract would go to the U.S. Army and a handful of U.S. allies.
The Navy anticipates integrating the Lockheed Martin-made missiles with ships’ air defenses.
The contract covers 1,970 PAC-3 MSE missiles and associated hardware.
(Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru and Mike stone in Washington; Editing by Alan Barona)
