Patriot and Aegis in Gulf to pressure Iran 22, February 2010
Posted by thegulfblog.com in American ME Relations, Iran, The Gulf.Tags: Aegis Cruisers, Iran threat, missile defence, Obama, Patriot facts, Patriot Missile System
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UPI reports that the Obama Administration has accelerated the deployment of anti-missile defenses to friendly Gulf States to counter the Iranian missile threat. Patriot Systems and Aegis Cruisers are the key plinths of this deployment, though General Petraeus did not specifically name the countries that hosted the Patriot Systems. This is somewhat curious as the Guardian reported at the end of January that the Patriot System would be installed in Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain, with Kuwait and KSA having their existing systems upgraded. The widespread leaking of this move is seen as a mechanism to heap pressure on Iran.
Patriot Missile Facts
– Production began in 1980
– Currently at least 17 countries operate the system
– In the first Gulf War their success rate was 70% in KSA and 40% in Israel
– Each missile can weigh up to 1000kg, has a range of 100 miles, is more than 6m long, costs around $9 million and carries 90kg of explosives
– It automatically finds its target by radar
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