Raytheon says Germany could get Patriot upgrades in a year
BERLIN- U.S. weapons maker Raytheon Co said on Friday it could start upgrading Germany's Patriot missile defence system in about a year if Berlin decides against a rival system built by Europe's MBDA and U.S.-based Lockheed Martin Corp.
Wes Kremer, who heads Raytheon's Integrated Defense Systems division, said the company could also upgrade Germany's Patriot system for less than the estimated cost of the rival Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), made by MBDA and Lockheed,.
Raytheon lost out on the work last year when Germany picked the MEADS system, but the company is keeping close tabs on the defence ministry's slow-moving efforts to hammer out a contract with MBDA.
Sources familiar with the matter say the MBDA's formal proposal for the programme came in billions of euros higher than the previous estimate of 4 billion euros ($4.5 billion) when it was submitted in September. Some ministry officials have already raised the possibility of upgrading Patriot given the jump in the MEADS projected cost, the sources said.
