John Tlumacki | The Boston Globe | Getty Images
The patriot missile is manufactured at Raytheon’s Integrated Air Defense Center in Andover, Mass.
Defense company Raytheon is seeing a growth market in missile defense systems in Europe and the Middle East due to increased “threat dynamics,” the company’s international chief executive told CNBC at the Dubai Airshow.
“There is (a growth market in Europe) as a direct result of the threat dynamic that our customers are seeing. They want to have the ability to protect their sovereignty,” Raytheon International Chief Executive John Harris said Monday.
Last week, the Swedish government said it was going to start negotiations to spend over $1 billion for Raytheon’s U.S.-made Patriot surface-to-air defense missile system that it expects to be operational by 2025 at the latest.
The purchase comes amid increasing tensions near the Baltic Sea. The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) have fears over possible aggression from their neighbor Russia. Nordic countries, such as Sweden, have reportedly looked to deepen their defense cooperation with these Baltic states in response to this aggression.
Remarking on the deal, Harris said that the Patriot system was “the world’s only combat-proven integrated air missile defense system” and that he was “really proud” to be able to supply the system to the Swedish government.
He added that there had also been an increase in interest for Raytheon’s defense systems in the Middle East amid increasing instability in the region, particularly between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
“There’s been demand signals because of the threat dynamic in our core competencies which are integrated air missile defense, precision-guided munitions, cyber, mission support, all areas that give our allied nations the ability to protect their sovereignty.”
