Patriot missile defence system

#GS-03 Science and Technology

Patriot missile defence system:

Patriot is a surface-to-air missile (SAM) system manufactured by the U.S. defense contractor Raytheon.
It is named after the Patriot (Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target) radar system used in it.
The Patriot system replaced the Nike Hercules system and the MIM-23 Hawk system as the U.S. Army’s primary High to Medium Air Defense (HIMAD) system and medium tactical air defense system respectively.
While it was initially developed as a system to intercept high-flying aircraft, it was modified in the 1980s to counter other threats such as ballistic missiles.
Currently the Patriot missile system has the ability to defend against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, jets and “other threats”.
However, it doesn’t offer protection against low-flying small drones.
Patriot system’s radar has a range of over 150 km and it can track over 50 potential targets at the same time.
The mobile Patriot system includes a control centre, a radar station to detect threats, missile launchers to take out those threats and other support vehicles.
As of now the Patriot system has been deployed in 18 countries, including the U.S. and other NATO countries.
It is also deployed in West Asia, with America’s allies such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Israel as a counter to Iran.