Boeing announced receiving a $1.1 billion contract to extend the US Army’s Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 missile seeker production into 2026.
Under the contract, Boeing will produce an additional 1,500 seekers for the Lockheed Martin-built air-defense-system beginning in 2023. The award follows the $974 million contract the company received last year to extend PAC-3 missile seeker production into 2022, including developing the next-generation of the seeker. The defense manufacturer has produced more than 4,300 PAC-3 missile seekers since 2000.
Robert Green, director of Boeing Integrated Air and Missile Defense, remarked: “Our battle-tested, precision seeker is the product of decades of world-class engineering, research and development. Of course, none of this would be possible without the dedication and hard work of our entire PAC-3 team.”
The Missile Seeker
The PAC-3 missile seeker provides active guidance data to the munition, which enables it to intercept and destroy enemy tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and aircraft.
The surface-to-air missile system, in service for more than three decades, consists of the missile, the missile canisters in four packs, a fire solution computer, and an enhanced launcher electronics system.
The seekers will be produced in Boeing’s Huntsville, Alabama, facility, which underwent an expansion in 2018 to accommodate future growth.