Raytheon has received U.S. Congressional and State Department approvals on a $1.7 billion Direct Commercial Sales contract to upgrade the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Patriot Air and Missile Defense System to the latest Configuration-3.

The award, announced earlier this year, includes ground-system hardware, a full training package, support equipment upgrades and an interoperability capability to support potential coalition operations.

Patriot is the world's most capable air and missile defense system, protecting against a full range of advanced threats, including aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. It is the system of choice for 12 nations around the globe.

Raytheon is the prime contractor for both domestic and international Patriot Air and Missile Defense Systems and system integrator for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles.

With 2010 sales of $25 billion, Raytheon is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 89 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services.