Under the contract, Raytheon will upgrade Saudi Arabia’s Patriot missile system to the most advanced version of the technology. Raytheon will provide new ground-system hardware, training, and new equipment, the company said in a release.
Patriot systems are defensive weapons, described in the Raytheon release as protection against “a full range of advanced threats, including aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and UAVs,’’ or unmanned aerial vehicles.
Raytheon declined to comment further on the deal.
Andrew J. Bacevich, a professor of history and international relations at Boston University, said the United States has sold high-tech military weapons to Saudi Arabia for years; according to Raytheon, the Middle Eastern country has been buying Patriot missile equipment since the 1990s.
On the surface, the arrangement can be explained as the United States providing enhanced missile defense capabilities to an ally that is threatened by Iran, Bacevich said, adding: “Saudi Arabia depends on the US for its own security, and I think that a willingness to continually buy high-ticket items from us, thereby helping sustaining the military-industrial complex, is part of the way that Saudi Arabia stays in the United States’ good graces.’’
Twelve countries use the Patriot missile defense system.
Taryn Luna can be reached at tluna@globe.com.
