Up to 1000 surface-to-air Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM-T) will be provided to NATO nations under a deal signed between the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) and COMLOG, a joint venture between Raytheon and MBDA.

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Even though initially this was a coalition of states including Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain, other nations are expected to become involved and support the production and delivery of the missiles. COMLOG will also expand the production capacity of GEM-T missiles in Europe.

Along with the missiles, the contract has included the qualification of updated components, the addition of new suppliers, test equipment, and spare parts to support future sustainment.

The deal follows a Polish order for Patriot systems in December. Along with its support for NATO states in the latest Patriot deal, the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) has assisted Spain in ordering Kongsberg Naval Strike Missiles and Germany in the purchase of an NH90-helicopter Full Mission Simulator.

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The Patriot (MIM-104) is a long-range, all-altitude, all-weather air defence system to counter tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and advanced aircraft and it is produced by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.

The said system is in service with the US and allied countries including Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Poland, Sweden, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Romania, Spain, and Taiwan.

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Guidance enhanced missile (GEM-T) upgrade

The Patriot system’s missile is equipped with a track-via-missile (TVM) guidance system. According to the manufacturer, midcourse correction of ballistic data commands is transmitted to the guidance system from the mobile engagement control center.

The target acquisition system in the missile acquires the target in the terminal phase of flight and transmits the data using the TVM downlink via the ground radar to the engagement control station for final course correction calculations. The course correction commands are transmitted to the missile via the missile track command uplink. 

The high-explosive 90 kg warhead is found behind the terminal guidance section. The missile has a range of 70 km and a maximum altitude exceeding 24 km. The minimum flight time is less than nine seconds and the maximum is three and a half minutes.

Raytheon developed the Patriot guidance enhanced missile (GEM-T), an upgrade to the PAC-2 missile. The upgrade involved a new fuse and the insertion of a new low-noise oscillator, which increased the seeker’s sensitivity to low-radar cross-section targets.

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NSPA said that Patriot user nations will take advantage of significant benefits, while the consolidated multinational procurement, in the framework of the European Sky Shield Initiative, offers economies of scale and supports the expansion of production capacity for new GEM-T missiles to meet demand.

In recent months, NSPA has ordered RBS 70 surface-to-air missiles from Saab under a contract worth USD 35 million and Kongsberg will deliver Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) to the Spanish Navy under a EUR 305 million deal also contracted through NSPA.

In November, Norway, Finland, and Sweden ordered 80,000 Batlskin Caiman helmet systems and accessories, the first contracts to be placed under a framework agreement signed by NSPA 12 months earlier.

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