Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract to integrate the Patriot, an Army missile interceptor into the U.S. Navy’s Aegis combat system. This is a significant milestone, the company announced on Tuesday, as it marks the first time that the weapon has been deployed at sea. Lockheed Martin was the first to report, in October 2024, that the Navy would be arming its ships with Patriot Advanced Capability-3 'Missile Segment Enhancement' (PAC-3 MSE), interceptors. This was due to fears that China might?deploy Hypersonic Weapons to sink vessels in the Pacific.
The deployment will enhance the missile defense shield that protects the Navy's destroyer fleet. Lockheed Martin pursued integration for several years. However, the new contract is the first concrete step towards deploying the Army interceptors on Navy surface vessels. This move has been in the works for many years. PAC-3s have been reported to be more agile than the existing Navy interceptors. Their "hit-to-kill" concept, in which the missile 'hits its target directly instead of exploding near it, makes them particularly lethal when faced with high-speed, maneuvering ballistic rockets.
