WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army deployed an advanced Patriot missile
defense system in Qatar.
Officials said the Patriot, with PAC-3 configuration, was deployed
during the U.S.-led war in Iraq and enhanced amid the emerging missile and
nuclear threat from Iran. They said the system was meant to protect U.S.
military assets in the Gulf emirate, located about 250 kilometers from Iran.
The stationing of the Patriot was disclosed in a June 30 announcement by the
Defense Department. The Pentagon awarded a $7.6 million contract to repair
the Patriot system in Qatar and other army bases abroad as well as in the
United States.
Under the contract, Raytheon would develop on-site depot level
diagnostic, fault isolation, clean-up, and repair capability for the
Patriot. The Pentagon said 9.79 percent of the contract would take place in
Qatar.
Qatar has hosted the U.S. Army at A-Sayliyah as well as the U.S. Air
Force at Al Udeid. Al Udeid contained the air operations command of Central
Command, responsible for the Middle East and Central Asia.
The Raytheon contract was expected to be completed by 2010. Officials
said this was a sole source contract launched on Dec. 15, 2005, and contract
funds would not expire at the end of fiscal 2006.
The army has also deployed PAC-3 in Iraq and Kuwait. The U.S. military
has also been enhancing the older PAC-2 with an improved interceptor.
The Bush administration has urged Qatar and the other five Gulf
Cooperation Council states to purchase the PAC-3 for both national and
regional missile defense. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia have been examining the
prospect of either procuring new systems or upgrading their PAC-2 batteries
to PAC-3 configuration.