American company Lockheed Martin will create cheaper missiles for “Patriot”. They will be produced with European partners

American defense company Lockheed Martin has reported the creation of a new interceptor missile for the “Patriot” system, which will be significantly cheaper than previous munitions.

Reuters writes about this.

The new missile is called the PAC-3 Adapted Capability Effector (ACE). It will cost half the price of the current PAC-3 MSE missile, which costs about $4 million per unit. The company added that initial production will begin within 36 months. The weapons will be developed and manufactured together with American and European industrial partners.

Reuters believes that the release of a cheaper interceptor by an American company highlights how the largest defense companies are responding to growing competition.

• “Patriot” is an American long-range anti-aircraft missile system, which is the basis of the air defense of the US Armed Forces. The system is capable of destroying aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles at a distance of up to 160 km.
• The weapon successfully shoots down Russian ballistic missiles, despite the fact that they may deviate from the trajectory, because “Patriot” automatically calculates the missileʼs flight trajectory and the point of meeting its missile with ballistics.

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