The rocket motor includes the case, nozzle assembly, propellant, liner and insulation, pyrogen igniter, and propulsion arming and firing unit.

It works similar to an anti-radiation missile in that it flies a highly lofted trajectory and then locates, homes in on, and destroys the most significant emitter in an area designated by the operator.

In April 2013, Raytheon received U.S. Army approval for a second recertification, extending the operational life of the worldwide inventory of Patriot missiles from 30 to 45 years.

Due to this upgrade, PAC-3 operators can now see, transmit, and receive tracks on the Link 16 Command and Control (C2) network using a Class 2M Terminal or MIDS LVT Radio.

The PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) interceptor increases altitude and range through a more powerful dual-pulse motor for added thrust, larger fins that collapse inside current launchers, and other structural modifications for more agility.

[57] Israeli program officials have said that a previous teaming agreement between Raytheon and Rafael would allow the U.S. company to assume prime contractor status, and produce at least 60 percent of the Stunner missile in the United States.

[61] PAC-3 system upgrades continue under the International Engineering Services Program (IESP) which includes all countries that rely on the Patriot for integrated air and missile defense - as of 2022, the United States of America, The Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Taiwan, Greece, Spain, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Romania, Sweden, Poland, Bahrain, and Switzerland.

[68] On February 7, 2025, Raytheon's LTAMDS radar successfully completed a live-fire test, detecting and tracking a high-speed cruise missile and guiding a PAC-2 GEM-T interceptor to neutralize the threat.

[79] As part of an ongoing U.S. Army test program, LTAMDS continues advancing toward full deployment, with strong international interest and a $2 billion contract to supply radars to the U.S. and Poland.

During Operation Desert Storm, in addition to its anti-aircraft mission, the Patriot was assigned to shoot down incoming Iraqi Scud or Al Hussein short range ballistic missiles launched at Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Postwar video analysis of presumed interceptions by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor Theodore Postol suggests that no Scud was actually hit.

[86] On February 25, 1991, an Iraqi Al Hussein Scud missile hit the barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 28 soldiers from the U.S. Army's 14th Quartermaster Detachment.

However, the timestamps of the two radar pulses being compared were converted to floating point differently: one correctly, the other introducing an error proportionate to the operation time so far (100 hours) caused by the truncation in a 24-bit fixed-point register.

[94][95] On April 7, 1992, Charles A. Zraket of Harvard Kennedy School and Peter Zimmerman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank funded by the United States government and Raytheon, testified about the calculation of success rates and accuracy in Israel and Saudi Arabia and discounted many of the statements and methodologies in Postol's report.

In response to the testimonies and other evidence, the staff of the House Government Operations Subcommittee on Legislation and National Security reported, "The Patriot missile system was not the spectacular success in the Persian Gulf War that the American public was led to believe.

[clarification needed][101] On April 2, 2003, two PAC-3 missiles shot down a USN F/A-18 Hornet, killing U.S. Navy Lieutenant Nathan D. White of VFA-195, Carrier Air Wing Five.

[106] During Operation Protective Edge, Patriot batteries of the Israeli Air Defense Command intercepted and destroyed two unmanned aerial vehicles launched by Hamas.

In August 2014, a Syrian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down by an Israeli Air Defense Command MIM-104D Patriot missile near Quneitra, after it had penetrated the airspace over the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights.

[120] Houthi sources said that the missile's intended target was the air force base in King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, 65 km (40 miles) north-west of Mecca.

[126] In February 2021, a Patriot battery intercepted a ballistic missile over Riyadh that was fired by Houthis as a Formula E race was held on the outskirts of the city in Diriyah, attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

General Turaiq told the Abu Dhabi-based The National newspaper on November 14, 2015, that the first missile was shot down late the previous day in the Al-Gofainah area and a second was intercepted before it hit the building hosting the control centre for forces operating in Marib and Al-Baydah provinces.

Airbus Defence and Space satellite imagery obtained by IHS Jane's showed two Patriot fire units, each with two launchers, deployed at the Safir airstrip in Marib province on October 1.

[5] In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, on 9 March 2022, the U.S. European Command announced that it would send two Patriot air defense systems to Poland to "proactively counter any potential threat to U.S. and Allied forces and NATO territory".

[133] One day later, the Biden administration announced it would be delivering another $1.85 billion in aid to Ukraine that would include a Patriot battery[134] During a meeting with Zelenskyy in front of the press at the White House on December 21, Biden confirmed that the United States would send a Patriot battery to Ukraine, noting that it would take "months" to train the "dozens" of soldiers needed to operate the system, probably in Germany.

[149] On 19 May, U.S. defense officials and congressional staffers told CNN that a Patriot system had been used by the Ukrainian army to shoot down at least one Russian jet a few weeks before.

[5][152][153][154][155][156][157] Yurii Ihnat, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, initially denied the claim of interception,[158] but on May 6 it was finally confirmed by Commander of the UAF Mykola Oleschuk.

[173][174] On March 9, 2024, video footage emerged showing the destruction of an Armed Forces of Ukraine convoy that allegedly contained at least two M901 Patriot missile launchers near the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast.

[208][209] In June 2023, the State Department approved a potential sale of additional IBCS-capable equipment valued at $15 billion, which included 12 LTAMDS (GhostEye) radars, 48 M903 launchers, and 644 PAC-3 MSE missiles.

[217] Sweden decided in competition with Aster 30 SAMP/T to request an offer for the Patriot system in November 2017[220] and in August 2018 an agreement was signed[221] for four units and 12 launchers to form two battalions.

[227] In 2019, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces purchased 452 Patriot Advanced Capability 3 (PAC-3) Missiles Segment Enhanced (MSE) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $2.728 billion.