The Army gave Raytheon Co. [RTN] a $115 million contract to continue Pure Fleet upgrades of Army Patriot air and missile defense systems.

That Army Aviation and Missile Command contract will have Raytheon upgrade four additional Patriot systems to Configuration-3 status. The upgrades involve enhancements to Patriot system ground components, particularly the radar.

The contract option supports a "Grow the Army" initiative of equipping an additional Patriot battalion with a state-of-the-art Configuration-3 Patriot system.

Joseph "Skip" Garrett, vice president and deputy for Patriot programs at Raytheon said that "equipping a new Patriot battalion with a Configuration-3 system provides the Army with additional capability and flexibility to meet air defense requirements wherever needed. Both the upgrades and the addition of a new Configuration-3 battalion are extremely important."