Army Mulling Options for Patriot Upgrade.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: Patriot Advanced Capability-2, air-defense system

Military, industry officials downplay potential Patriot-Meads competition

As the U.S. Army prepares to field its first battery of new air-defense missiles--the PAC-3--service officials are hard-pressed to figure our what to do about a $500 million funding shortfall in the program and to decide how to proceed with proposed upgrades to its current system, the PAC-2.

Patriot Advanced Capabllity-2 is a corps-level air-defense system that has been used for nearly two decades to protect troops against enemy aircraft and tactical ballistic missiles.

The PAC-3 comes with an entirely new missile, which is much smaller than PAC-2's and relies on hit-to-kill technology to defeat targets. PAC-3 currently is in low-rate production. The Army plans to buy 1,130 missiles at a unit cost of about $2 million.

The installation of the first battery of 16 missiles will be a morale boost for the Army, given the delays and budget overruns experienced in the program in recent years. The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization has been responsible for PAC-3 development so far, but the plan now is to turn over the program to the Army, because the technology is mature. BMDO allocated $784 million for PAC-3 in fiscal 2002. The Army will get 72 missiles in 2002.

The service, however, is not convinced that it has enough money to buy back the program from BMDO, said Lt. Gen. Joseph M. Cosumano Jr., head of the Army Space and Missile Defense Command. "We have 10 Patriot battalions. We want to make sure we have enough money to equip all those battalions," he told National Defense during a conference in Huntsville, Ala. "I support taking the program back from BMDO if the dollars are provided," he said.

"Our initial investigation shows that only seven of the 10 battalions have enough dollars to convert PAC-2 to PAC-3," said Cosumano. That equates to a funding shortage of $500 million, he said.

Cosumano's deputy for acquisition, Brig. Gen. (P) John M. Urias, told National Defense that his office "is watching the transition of the PAC-3 program" to ensure BMDO provides adequate funding.

A senior Army budget official who asked to not be quoted by name said the funding shortage in PAC-3 will not "begin to hurt" until 2005. He acknowledged that the program has serious financial problems" in the out-years.

The Army would like to convert all 10 Patriot battalions to PAC-3, said Cosumano. That is a reversal from the Army's position a few years ago, when it was considering converting...