Patriot system sees renewed sales opportunity in Europe

German soldiers transport a Patriot battery in Jasionka near Rzeszów, Poland, on 23 January 2025. (NurPhoto via Getty)

With European countries reprioritising air defence and considering the donation of additional systems to Ukraine, Patriot original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Raytheon is trying not only to increase production but also to influence the future direction of European ground-based air defence (GBAD).

Speaking to Janes on 30 July, Raytheon's Patriot programme manager Joseph DeAntona discussed the company's plans to increase the capability of the Patriot air-defence system and further evolve its participation in the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI).

DeAntona was unable to discuss in detail Patriot's role in Ukraine, but as the country looks to increase its number of Patriot batteries from six to 10, he said Raytheon is “very familiar” with requirements emerging from the ongoing conflict.

According to DeAntona, the ESSI will provide a “baseline of air-defence options for European countries” in the future but said it should not be restricted to the existing offerings of Arrow 3, Patriot, and IRIS-T interceptors.

“So if you're part of the European community, we would ask you to consider starting with these. But it's not limited to those,” he said, before suggesting that the ESSI must “broaden its system integration” with possible options including the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) in the future.

“If you look at the number of European countries that have NASAMS, it's a natural fit, if you will. Some of the other [air-defence providers] are just requiring us to share information, understand what it is that we're trying to achieve, and then putting together the plan to make that a capability for our customers,” he added.