Raytheon MIM-104 Patriot (H.A.F)

The MIM-104 Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, the primary of its kind used by the United States Army and several allied nations. It is manufactured by the Raytheon Company of the United States. The Patriot System replaced the Nike Hercules System as the U.S. Army's primary high to medium air defense (HIMAD) platform , and replaced the HAWK System as the U.S. Army's medium tactical air defense platform. In addition to these roles, Patriot has assumed the role as the U.S. Army's anti-ballistic missile (ABM) platform, which today is Patriot's primary mission.Patriot uses an advanced aerial interceptor missile and high performance radar systems. Patriot was developed at the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, which had previously developed the Safeguard ABM system and its component Spartan and Sprint missiles.The name "Patriot" can also be referred to as a acronym, taken from the phrase Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept Of Target. The symbol for Patriot is a drawing of a Revolutionary War-era Minuteman.Patriot systems have been sold to the Republic of China (Taiwan), Greece, Israel, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Spain. Republic of Korea is also in procedure of purchasing several second-hand Patriot systems after the North Koreans test-launched several ballistic missiles to the Sea of Japan and went ahead with underground nuclear testing in 2006.on 15/10/64.The Secretary of Defense directed that the Army Air Defense System for the 1970s (AADS-70s) program name be changed to Surface-to-Air Missile, Development (SAM-D). 1975 SAM-D successfully engaged a drone at the White Sands Missile Range. In 1976, it was renamed the PATRIOT Air Defense Missile System. The MIM-104 Patriot would combine several new technologies, including the phased array radar and track-via-missile guidance. Full-scale development of the system began in 1976 and it was deployed in 1984. Patriot was used initially as an anti-aircraft system, but in 1988 it was upgraded to provide limited capability against tactical ballistic missiles as PAC-1 (Patriot Advanced Capability-1). The most recent upgrade, called PAC-3, is a nearly total system redesign, intended from the outset to engage and destroy tactical ballistic missiles.The Patriot system has four major operational functions: communications, command and control, radar surveillance, and missile guidance. The four functions combine to provide a coordinated, secure, integrated, mobile air defense system.The modular nature of the Patriot system has made both hardware and software upgrades a relatively simple and continuous process throughout the system's service. The most common upgrades have been to the software and to the missiles themselves, though just about every major sub-component of the system has seen at least one upgrade at one point.Patriot was first introduced with a single missile type: the MIM-104A. This was the initial "Standard" missile (still known as "Standard" today). In these early days the system was used exclusively as an anti-aircraft weapon, and this initial variant had no capability against ballistic missiles. This was remedied in the late 1980s, when Patriot received its first major system overhaul with the introduction of the Patriot Advanced Capability missile and concurrent system upgrades.The PAC-3 upgrade is the most significant upgrade Patriot has received thus far, and is one of the most comprehensive upgrade programs ever undertaken on an American weapon system. Nearly every aspect of the system received a significant upgrade. The PAC-3 upgrade took place in three stages, and units were designated Configuration 1, 2, or 3 based on the stage of upgrade they were in.

Channel: Howto & Style
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: zeoul001

Length: 00:40
Rating: 4.45
Views: 27811

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