Raytheon continues Patriot push in India

Adecade after Raytheon first began its big push of the Patriot PAC-3 integrated air and missile defence system to India, the company remains committed to India as a potential customer. Raytheon CEO William Swanson recently described the PAC-3 as a “never-ending opportunity” and listed India as one of the countries that remained interested in the system and technology.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which describes the indigenous BMD project as equal to, if not better than the Patriot, has said the country doesn’t need an imported system, but has indicated that it is willing to forge technological partnerships. Dis- cussions have continued over the years at various levels in this regard. With the Indian system to be ready for deployment in the next 18 months, it remains to be seen what partnership DRDO will be looking for.