Raytheon has received a $655 million contract for new-production fire units of the combat-proven Patriot Air and Missile Defense System for Kuwait. These units are an addition to the Patriot fire units Kuwait currently owns to counter current and evolving threats.

Awarded by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Ala., as a Foreign Military Sale agreement, the contract includes new Patriot fire units with increased computing power and radar processing efficiency, improved man-machine interface and reduced life-cycle costs.

"We continue to see an increased interest in and demand for the advanced Patriot as the system is called to duty in hot spots around the world," said Ralph Acaba, vice president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems business.

"Kuwait is part of Patriot's current family of 12 nations that have already selected Patriot as the cornerstone of their air and missile defense strategy. Their decision to further strengthen their defenses with technologically advanced new production fire units reaffirms our strong partnership and their trust in Patriot to protect Kuwait's people and critical infrastructure."

Work under this contract will be performed at Raytheon's Integrated Air Defense Center, Andover, Mass., supported by a global team of Patriot system suppliers.