- Jul 1, 2018
- 1,635
Product Type | Vehicle Production |
Country | United States |
Product Name | MIM-104 "Patriot PAC-2" |
Product Quantity | 600 |
Unit Cost | 2,000,000.00 |
On the Catalogue? | Yes |
Private / Encrypted? | No |
Completion Date | Sat, 20 Jul 2019 |
Total Cost | 1,200,000,000.00 |
Product Information | During the late 1980s, tests began to indicate that, although Patriot was certainly capable of intercepting inbound ballistic missiles, it was questionable whether or not the MIM-104A/B missile was capable of destroying them reliably. This necessitated the introduction of the PAC-2 missile and system upgrade. For the system, the PAC-2 upgrade was similar to the PAC-1 upgrade. Radar search algorithms were further optimized, and the beam protocol while in "TBM search" was further modified. PAC-2 also saw Patriot's first major missile upgrade, with the introduction of the MIM-104C, or PAC-2 missile. This missile was optimized for ballistic missile engagements. Major changes to the PAC-2 missile were the size of the projectiles in its blast-fragmentation warhead (changed from around 2 grams to around 45 grams), and the timing of the pulse-Doppler radar fuse, which was optimized for high-speed engagements (though it retained its old algorithm for aircraft engagements if necessary). Engagement procedures were also optimized, changing the method of fire the system used to engage ballistic missiles. Instead of launching two missiles in an almost simultaneous salvo, a brief delay (between 3 and 4 seconds) was added in order to allow the second missile launched to discriminate a ballistic missile warhead in the aftermath of the explosion of the first. |