NASAMS, AMRAAM-ER and Additional PATRIOT Fire Units

Raytheon announced on 10 July that Qatar has ordered additional integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) capability in two contracts valued at approx. $2.2 billion (€1.95 billion).

The contracts will cover the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), the final certified variant of the AMRAAM-Extended Range (AMRAAM-ER) missile and an unspecified number of additional PATRIOT fire units. These awards form part of a larger agreement being pursued by Qatar with the US government, the eventual vale of which is expected to be in the region of $3 billion.

Qatar is the first country to procure AMRAAM-ER, the surface-to-air extended-range variant of the combat-proven AMRAAM air-to-air-missile. Qatar also becomes the 11th country to procure NASAMS, a medium-range air-defence solution manufactured by Raytheon and Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace AS. NASAMS uses the Raytheon SENTINEL radar, and fires multiple interceptors, including the AMRAAM-ER. The combat-proven PATRIOT system provides effective air and missile defence capability for 16 nations.

“Raytheon’s integrated air and missile defense capabilities provide a combat-proven, layered approach that protects citizens, militaries and infrastructure from a broad spectrum of threats,” commented Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems President, Ralph Acaba.