Romania reinforces defence deal with US in Patriot missile pact
In October 2024, Romania delivered one of its two newest Patriot PAC-3+ battery systems to Ukraine. In a few years, Romania will receive compensation from the USA. Here’s what makes the Patriot PAC-3+ special.
The American Department of Defense announced that it would award RTX (Raytheon) a £778 million contract to produce Patriot system components. This order is for Romania under the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) procedure and will be completed by 31 December 2029. It compensates for delivering the only operational PAC-3+ battery to Ukraine.
Patriot PAC-3+ - the final evolution of the famous US system
Currently built Patriot batteries are in the PAC-3+ standard, significantly outperforming older models from the 1980s and 90s. The key here is the PAC-3 MSE missiles and the IBCS command system, an integrated air and missile defence system.
IBCS (Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System) is a network-centric approach to air defence that integrates many previously separate systems into one. A significant advantage is, for instance, the decentralisation of battery data because, unlike older systems, the destruction of the command point, known as the EOC (Engagement Operation Center), does not "silence" the entire battery system if its other elements survive the attack.
In the case of Patriot systems operating within IBCS, the possibility of connecting undamaged elements like radars and launchers to another EOC greatly complicates the enemy's effort to "silence" air defence. It is also worth mentioning that in the coming years, Patriot users in the PAC-3+ version will have the opportunity to replace AN/MPQ-65 sector radars with a viewing angle of 120 degrees with new LTAMDS radars capable of detecting objects in 360 degrees.
The second crucial component is the highly effective, albeit costly, PAC-3 MSE missiles (over £4.1 million each). Their mass production only began in 2018. They use kinetic energy exclusively to destroy targets, unlike the usual fragmentation warhead, making them a more reliable way to hit a target but requiring pinpoint accuracy. Thanks to them, shooting down, for instance, Iskanders-M or hypersonic KH-47 Kinzhal is not a problem.
