November 2 (SeeNews) - Romania's government has signed an agreement with the U.S. Army and transferred funding to the U.S. government for the purchase of three additional Patriot air and missile defense systems from the U.S. Army, contractor Raytheon said.
"As was the case with the first system, which came under contract in May, the additional units were procured via the U.S. Department of Defense's foreign military sales process," US-based Raytheon said in a press release on Thursday.
Patriot is the backbone of NATO's defense against lower tier ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, advanced aircraft and drones.
Fifteen other nations depend on Patriot to protect their citizens and armed forces, including the U.S. and six other European nations: Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland and Sweden.
All of Romania's Patriot fire units will be newly built. And although it shares the same name and external appearance as the Patriot system that defended NATO during the Cold War, the system has been completely modernized, the company said.
"Romania's Patriot fire units will have the same hardware and software suite as the U.S. Army's Patriot fire units," said Michelle DeMaio, Raytheon's Romania Patriot program manager. "This will enhance Romania's ability to train with the U.S. Army and other NATO allies."
In May, Raytheon has been awarded a $395.8 million (337.9 million euro) deal by the U.S. Army for production of Romania's Patriot air and missile defense system.
The system consists of radars, command-and-control technology and multiple types of interceptors, all working together to detect, identify and defeat tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, advanced aircraft and other threats.
Romania, which joined NATO in 2004, plans to spend 9.8 billion euro until 2026 to boost its defense capabilities.
($= 0.879 euro)