Once again Raytheon brings good news to the economy of the Merrimack Valley. Last week the US government granted Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems a $73 Million contract to upgrade the Patriot Missile System for two partner countries, Taiwan and Kuwait.  The Andover company’s stock increased to $52.31 after the announcement of the deal by the US Army Missile Command. This is the fourth order given by the US in a five-year plan to sell the Patriot to foreign military.  And the deal is historic for Raytheon as well. This contract marks the first upgrade awarded for the International Patriot Partners.
The Patriot Partners is made up of twelve nations, all users of Raytheon’s highly praised defensive missile. The group is working together in a coordinated effort to maximize the effectiveness of the missile system. In the words of Sanjay Kapoor, vice president of Integrated Defense Systems at Raytheon “This award enables us to quickly and effectively meet the in-country demands from Taiwan and Kuwait and is a strong indicator of the critical role the combat-proven Patriot continues to play for our 12 partner nations”.