Raytheon has entered into an agreement with Aselsan, a leading Turkish defence systems manufacturer for the codevelopment of a major end item for the Patriot Air and Missile Defence System. Under the agreement, Raytheon will subcontract to Aselsan of Ankara, Turkey, the codevelopment of the antenna mast group for Patriot Configuration-3 systems for the United Arab Emirates.

"Aselsan is Raytheon's first major trans-Atlantic partner selected to codevelop a Patriot major end item," said Tom Kennedy, president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems (IDS). "With its track record, technical expertise and location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Aselsan is ideally suited to be an international Patriot supplier and help serve our 12 partner nations that have chosen the combat-proven Patriot as a key component of their air and missile defense programs."

Aselsan, working with subcontractors throughout Turkey, Europe and the U.S., will coordinate and perform the work at its Ankara facility.

The contract cost is 12,002,000 USD and after its first delivery to Raytheon in May 2011 the project is planned to be completed in December 2011.

As an approved subcontractor of the U.S. based Raytheon, it is foreseen that ASELSAN’s workshare will  continue in this project  increasingly in the forthcoming years.