By Andrea Shalal
FARNBOROUGH, England, July 11 (Reuters) - Raytheon Co on Monday said it saw bright prospects for continuedsales of its Patriot air defence missile systems, citing stronginterest among its 13 operator countries in adding a 360-degreeAESA radar to their existing systems.
The U.S. government last year gave permission for Raytheonto export the new radar to countries that have Patriot missiledefence systems. Raytheon says the new radar gives the system a360-degree view of potential threats, makes it more reliable tooperate, and lower its operating and maintenance costs.
Wes Kremer, president of Raytheon's Integrated DefenseSystems business, said regular meetings by Patriot operators todecide on potential software and hardware upgrades meant theweapons system would continue to adapt to evolving threats.
"Patriot today is stronger than it's ever been, and Ibelieve our future is brighter than it's ever been," Kremer toldReuters at the Farnborough International Airshow.
Kremer declined to provide any detailed estimates on howmany 360-degree active electronically scanned array (AESA) radarunits the company could sell, but all 13 countries that operatethe current system are potential candidates.
He said Raytheon was keeping a close eye on developments inGermany, which last year chose Lockheed Martin Corp's rival MEADS system to replace its Patriots, in the hope that thedecision could still be reversed.
The German defence ministry last week notified lawmakersthat it might not finish negotiations with Lockheed and localunits of Europe's multinational missile firm MBDA about theMEADS system before year-end, raising questions over whether thedeal could be finished before national elections in 2017.
Germany announced it would use the MEADS system to replaceits Patriot system bought in the 1980s, but set up demandingperformance milestones that the companies must meet to retainthe contract.
Kremer said Raytheon was convinced that Patriot offeredGermany a more reliable and proven system that would also becheaper to operate and modernise in the future than MEADS.
"The Germans have ... set up very strict gates orcheckpoints along the way that they have to meet, bothcontractually and technically. This is the first indication thatsome of those things may be challenging," he said. (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Greg Mahlich)