Bahrain signs agreement to purchase Patriot air defense system

Bahrain has signed an agreement to purchase the Patriot missile defense system from the U.S. Army, Raytheon said on Tuesday, August 13.

The U.S. government will now begin contract negotiations with Raytheon for production of an undisclosed quantity of systems and missiles, the company said.

In May, the U.S. Department of State approved Bahrain’s procurement of the Patriot system at an estimated cost of $2.478 billion. The approval includes 60 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancement missiles, 36 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM-T) , nine M903 Launching Stations, and other components, tools and test equipment.

Patriot is a mobile air-defense system designed to intercept tactical ballistic missiles, low-flying cruise missiles and aircraft.

“Bahrain will use Patriot to improve its missile defense capability, defend its territorial integrity, and deter regional threats,” DSCA said in May.

The U.S. previously had Patriot PAC-3 batteries deployed in Bahrain to defend against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and aircraft, but removed them last year.