Farnborough 2012: Raytheon predicts 'three or four' new Patriot customers within 10 years

Raytheon expects to secure "three or four" more customers in the next 10 years for its Patriot air defence system as it capitalises on the continued struggles of the multi-national Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) programme.

The company told IHS Jane's it was also working to integrate existing air defence systems operated by its current 12 Patriot customers in an effort that will be limited only by political factors, rather than any "technical challenge".

"What we are seeing in the market today [is that] every country will want these systems integrated," Sanjay Kapoor, vice-president of Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD), told IHS Jane's at the Farnborough Airshow on 10 July.

Commenting on potential new members of what he termed "the Patriot club" of 12 nations, Kapoor said: "In this decade I think three or four countries will join." He declined to comment on who the new users might be beyond Turkey, which is soon to procure 12 new air defence systems under the USD4 billion T-LORAMIDS competition.

The Patriot system is being offered to Turkey by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon and is up against Eurosam's SAMP/T Aster 30, Rosoboronexport's S-300 and China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corporation's HQ-9.