Taiwan has placed a US$921 million order for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles as part of its military program to strengthen its air defense capabilities, a contract notification said on Monday.
In a press statement, Lockheed Martin Corp said the contract included missile and command launch system production and a follow-on sale of the PAC-3 Missile Segment to Taiwan.
The contract includes the -production of “hit-to-kill” PAC-3 missiles, launcher modification kits, spares and other equipment, as well as program management and services, Lockheed said, with delivery beginning in the first half of next year. Richard McDaniel, Lockheed vice president for the PAC-3 missile program, told Bloomberg the missiles would be delivered in 17 months, though he declined to disclose how many missiles were included in the order.
Contacted by the Taipei Times, David Wei (魏陵瑋), executive vice president for Lockheed Martin Global, Taiwan, would not confirm the number of missiles included in the deal, saying it was common practice to keep such numbers confidential.
Wei confirmed that this was the third annual order of PAC-3 missiles from Taiwan.
PAC-3 missiles were included in the October 2008 and January 2010 notifications to US Congress — 330 in the former and 114 in the latter notification, for a total of about US$5.9 billion.
Raytheon Corp, manufacturer of the PAC-3 firing units and radars, has received orders for six units from Taiwan. Delivery of the first four, which were part of the 2008 notification, is scheduled for 2014 or 2015. Late last month, Raytheon announced it had received a US$685.7 million contract for the fifth and sixth units, which were included in the 2010 arms package.
Taiwan is also spending US$939 million on upgrades to the three PAC-2 firing units it acquired in 1997 to PAC-3 configuration.
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