Boeing Ramps Up Patriot Missile Component Production

Boeing has announced that its Patriot missile component production line is set to break records in 2024.

The firm's Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) seeker program - which builds the component that enables the most advanced interceptors used by the Patriot system to identify, track and intercept fast-moving threats - has outstripped its previous three- and six-month rolling production records, and is also on pace to break its annual seeker production record by over 20% by year-end.

Demand for PAC-3 systems continues to skyrocket against the geopolitical backdrop of recent conflicts and rapidly proliferating threats affecting Ukraine, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region, the company said.

PAC-3 seekers provide target location data enabling Patriot projectiles to intercept a range of threats including incoming ballistic and cruise missiles and hostile aircraft and other advanced weapons. A total of 17 countries around the world now have PAC-3 interceptors, including most recently Ukraine.

Since 2000, Boeing has delivered more than 5,000 PAC-3 seekers for the U.S. Army and partners around the globe as a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin in Huntsville, Alabama.

US defence contractor Raytheon manufactured the original Patriot missile system; the most recent upgrade by manufacturer Lockheed Martin, designated PAC-3 was specifically intended from the outset to enable the engagement and destruction of ballistic missiles.

Read more on this story on the Boeing website