KBR, Inc. announced recently that its global government services business, KBRwyle, has been awarded a $133 million task order by the U.S. Army's Lower Tier Project Office to provide technical and engineering services to the Patriot missile system.
KBRwyle will provide engineering and technical analysis support of the Patriot missile system as well as adjunct systems. KBRwyle will support all engineering changes; modification retrofits; technical upgrades; Reliability, Availability and Maintainability (RAM) improvements; and training development for the U.S. and its allies.
The Patriot system provides air and missile defense protection from lower tier threats for ground combat forces and high-value assets. The most mature weapon system of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS), the Patriot counters short and medium-range tactical ballistic missiles, air-breathing threats, such as fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, and unmanned systems, such as cruise missiles and unmanned air vehicles.
A Brief History of Patriot Upgrades
The Patriot missile system has historically undergone regular Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC) upgrades since its introduction in the early eighties. For example, the first Patriot missile type was the MIM-104A, which was exclusively capable against aircraft. The PAC-1 and PAC-2 upgraded the missile’s radar software to improve detection and tracking of ballistic missiles.
PAC-3, which took place between 1995 and 2000, upgraded the entire system, from missile design, to new remote operator connectivity, to radar redesign. With more accurate active radar, the PAC-3 Patriot missile’s kinetic energy is sufficient to address most targets, even without a traditional warhead. However, the missile carries “The Lethality Enhancer,” which launches 24 tungsten fragments in a spread pattern around itself to increase hit probability.
Since then, the Patriot system has been continually upgraded, focusing mainly on radar, controls and software.
KBRwyle’s Contribution to the Patriot Missile System
The company’s work will be primarily performed in Huntsville, Alabama. The task order award period is five years with a six-month extension option.
"KBRwyle has provided uninterrupted systems engineering support to the Patriot missile system for almost four decades," said Byron Bright, President, KBR Government Services U.S. "We are honored to carry on our work with the Army to continuously enhance the Patriot's performance to protect U.S. forces and allies against evolving threats."
The Army awarded this time-and-materials task order under the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) Expedited Professional and Engineering Support Services (EXPRESS) contract. KBRwyle won a seat on the contract in October 2014.
KBRwyle provides services to the U.S. to help maintain its battlespace advantage. It supports several military critical air and missile defense systems, including the Cruise Missile Defense System (CMDS), Counter-Rockets, Artillery, and Mortar System (C-RAM), and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD).
To cap this article off, here’s a video of a Patriot missile live fire exercise, which took place at a NATO Missile Firing Installation(NAMFI), in Greece, in 2015.
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