On October 4, 2023, the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which is an agency of the United States Department of Defence, informed the United States Congress about a planned potential sale of four upgraded air defence missile systems, Patriot PAC-3+, to Spain under the American Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme. This purchase has been authorised by the Department of State of the United States. Anti-aircraft missiles, standard equipment, training and technical support packages, and other goods and services are included in the cost estimate, totalling $2.8 billion for the anticipated delivery.
According to the notification, the delivery to Spain will include four sets (batteries) of Patriot PAC-3+ air defence missile systems. These systems will consist of 51 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors (including one training missile), 24 M903 launchers, four multifunctional AN/MPQ-65 radar systems, four battery command posts AN/MSQ-132, four generators, and eight mast-mounted assemblies. Additionally, the delivery will include eight generators. In addition, the package comes with two Information Coordination Centres (Division Command Posts), which are referred to as ICCs. RTX Corporation, often known as Raytheon, will serve as the primary contractor for this supply.
The Spanish Armed Forces currently have three Patriot air defence systems, often known as batteries, in the PAC-2+ configuration. Each battery has twelve launchers and one AN/MPQ-65 radar. These systems were obtained from the inventory of the German Air Force, with one system being obtained in the year 2004 and two systems being obtained in the year 2014. In Spain, they are a part of the 73rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment of the Spanish Army, which has its headquarters in Valencia. They are assigned to the 3rd Group (division) within that regiment. One of the three Spanish Patriot PAC-2+ batteries is currently stationed continuously on the NATO Active Fence mission in Turkey. This mission’s primary objective is to protect against any potential ballistic missile threats originating in Syria. The Spanish Army had previously planned to upgrade its Patriot PAC-2+ systems to the PAC-3+ level; however, the DSCA notification suggests that new production PAC-3+ systems will now be delivered to the Spanish Army instead.
