Boeing Patriots Program Achieves Production Milestone

-Fast start to 2024 sets team up for annual production record, -Demand for PAC-3 continues to grow in the wake of recent conflicts and rapidly proliferating threats affecting Ukraine, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific

By Priyal Dutta 08 Aug 2024 in Aviation Industry

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Boeing designs, manufactures, and services commercial airplanes, defence products, and space systems for customers in over 150 countries

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Boeing's Record-Breaking Success:

The program surpassed its previous three- and six-month rolling PAC-3 seeker production records

Boeing's Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) seeker program, which builds the component enabling the advanced interceptors used by the Patriot system to identify, track, and intercept fast-moving threats, has had a record-setting start in 2024. The program has exceeded its previous three- and six-month rolling PAC-3 seeker production records and is also on track to surpass its annual seeker production record by over 20% by the end of the year.

Jim Bryan, director of Integrated Air & Missile Defense

“The PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement — equipped with a Boeing seeker — saves lives,” said Jim Bryan, director of Integrated Air & Missile Defence. “U.S. and allied service members and civilians rely on what our teammates build and deliver, so we’re ramping up production to provide more protection in more places to help meet the need for this capability.”

Several factors increased production, including enhanced manufacturing processes, improved production control, increased supply chain stability for PAC-3 circuit card assembly and complete seeker manufacturing, and better initial product testing quality.

It is also on pace to break its annual seeker production record by over 20% by year-end

The PAC-3 seekers provide precise target location data to the most advanced interceptors in the Patriot system. This enables the system to defeat threats, including incoming ballistic and cruise missiles, hostile aircraft, and other advanced weapons. Currently, seventeen countries worldwide have PAC-3 interceptors, with Ukraine being the most recent addition.

Seventeen countries around the world now have PAC-3 interceptors, including most recently, Ukraine

Since 2000, Boeing has delivered over 5,000 PAC-3 seekers to the U.S. Army and global partners as a subcontractor to Lockheed Martin in Huntsville, Alabama. The rate expansion is part of a broader strategic plan to increase seeker production and reduce the current backlog of orders. The overall effort includes:

• Expanding the PAC-3 Seeker Factory in Huntsville by 35,000 square feet (3,300 square meters) to increase annual production capacity by over 30%.

• Investing in equipment and technology, such as automated inspection and robotic soldering equipment.

• Continuing to strengthen and expand supplier relationships and forming strategic agreements to create a more agile, efficient, and resilient supply chain that can scale up as needed.

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