Article Posted on : - Oct 11, 2011

A unrelated file photo.

TEWKSBURY, MASSACHUSETTS (BNS): The US Army has successfully completed the first flight test of the new ground-up production Patriot Guidance-Enhanced Missile-Tactical (GEM-T) at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.

"The successful modernisation, ground-up production and flight test of a new GEM-T missile in less than 32 months represent a significant technical achievement by Raytheon and the US Army Lower Tier Project Office," Sanjay Kapoor, vice president for Integrated Air and Missile Defense at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, was quoted as saying in the company news release.

"This major milestone in the resurgence of Patriot is proof that the combat-proven Patriot is well-positioned to serve our 12 Patriot partners and future customers well beyond 2040," he added.

Raytheon is the prime contractor for both domestic and international Patriot Air and Missile Defense Systems and system integrator for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles.