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Boeing Goes to War Pace: New Factory Triples Patriot Seeker Output for Ukraine and NATO
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Boeing is expanding its missile-defense production base as orders surge across Europe, as the company has opened a new 40,000-square-foot facility dedicated to building Patriot missile seekers—the precision Ka-band radar units that enable the PAC-3 interceptor’s “hit-to-kill” accuracy— in an effort to triple output over the next several years, Bloomberg reported from the Dubai Air Show on November 17.
Steve Parker, who leads Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said the company made the investment long before customers formally requested more supply.
😍 Launches of MIM-104 "Patriot" air defence missiles at Russian targets, - "Come Back Alive" pic.twitter.com/t6PlwRke3F
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“We saw the demand coming,” he told reporters, describing the new seeker center as a way to eliminate bottlenecks in electronics and final integration. Boeing has already pushed production to record levels, topping 500 seekers last year, and expects further growth through 2025.
The Patriot seeker has become one of the critical pacing items in NATO’s missile-defense ecosystem. Several European nations have transferred their own Patriot systems and interceptors to Ukraine, forcing a rapid replenishment cycle at the same moment Kyiv is asking Washington for more than two dozen additional batteries.
The new Boeing facility, along with fresh Pentagon contracts worth billions, is intended to stabilize a supply chain that has been under strain since early 2022.
The expansion comes as Boeing navigates labor turmoil at its St. Louis defense plant, where a contract dispute halted work on fighter jets and MQ-25 tankers. While PAC-3 seeker production is centered in Alabama, Parker said the episode shows how thin margins have become across the company’s defense portfolio during a period of unprecedented demand.
Patriot’s PAC-3 interceptor relies on Boeing’s seeker to guide itself into the target during the final milliseconds of flight, enabling direct, body-to-body kills against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones. Ukrainian forces have repeatedly credited Patriot batteries with destroying Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and other advanced threats—proof, Western commanders say, that the system’s high-end capabilities are now battle-tested.
Nearly 20 nations operate Patriot systems, including Germany, Poland, Romania, Japan, South Korea, Israel, and Taiwan.
Earlier, the US State Department approved a potential $105 million sale to Ukraine to upgrade its Patriot air defense systems.
The package focuses on modernizing M901 launchers to the more advanced M903 standard—an upgrade that will enable Ukraine to integrate the latest interceptor missiles, including the PAC-3 and PAC-3 MSE variants.
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