On Tuesday, April 7, 2026, at the Ground-Based Air Defense Command (DGLC) at Lieutenant General Best Barracks in Vredepeel, the Materiel and IT Command (COMMIT, Commando Materieel en IT) of the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands signed a contract of undisclosed value with the U.S. company Raytheon (part of RTX) for an additional fire unit of the MIM-104 Patriot air and missile defense system.
From left: COMMIT Director General for Armaments Gen. Harold Boekholt, State Secretary for Defence Derk Boswijk, and Raytheon Global Patriot Senior Vice President Pete Bata / Photos: Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
The contract covers the delivery of a so-called fire unit of the MIM-104 Patriot system, consisting of an AN/MPQ-65 sector fire-control radar, M903 interceptor missile launchers, AN/MSQ-104 ECS (Engagement Control Station) command-and-control stations, and other supporting equipment. The contract also includes spare parts and a logistics reserve.
It should be recalled that the previous contract, also for one unit, worth 529 million USD, was concluded on January 16, 2025. As emphasized, the new contract is a continuation of the previous one and a direct complement to it. Negotiations on its terms were finalized in a record time of just a few months, which was made possible by the already ongoing and intensive cooperation with the U.S. manufacturer. Deliveries are to be completed over the course of several years.
Earlier, on August 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of State approved the potential sale of two additional Patriot M903 launchers and the modification of existing M901 launchers to the M903 standard for up to 224 million USD.
The purchase of additional Patriot system components is linked to the earlier transfer of existing units to Ukraine. On May 28, 2024, the Ministry of Defence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands also announced a proposal for an international effort to assemble at least one battery for Ukraine.
It is also worth noting that the modernization of the existing M901 launchers, which use PAC-2 GEM-T missiles, to the M903 standard stems from the acquisition of PAC-3 MSE missiles, which can only be fired from the latest launcher.
It is also worth adding that on January 3, 2024, the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation (NSPA) announced that it had signed a framework contract with the COMLOG joint venture, formed by the U.S. corporation RTX and the European consortium MBDA, for the production and delivery of up to 1,000 PAC-2 GEM-T missiles. The Kingdom of the Netherlands is also expected to be among the future beneficiaries of that contract.
After the 1991 Gulf War, Dutch Patriot systems were temporarily deployed in Turkey and Israel. During the subsequent conflict in Iraq in 2003, the systems were again sent to Turkey, where three batteries protected the cities of Diyarbakır and Batman. In 2012, the unit was once more deployed to Turkey, this time to Adana, in connection with the civil war in Syria. On August 25, 2014, it was announced that the deployment would be withdrawn within five months. In January 2017, Patriot systems were transferred to Lithuania as part of Exercise Tobruq Legacy 2017. At present, one unit is deployed in Poland.
Before providing materiel support to Ukraine, the 802nd Squadron of the Royal Netherlands Army (802 Patriot-squadron Koninklijke Landmacht), based at Luitenant-generaal Bestkazerne in Limburg (previously known as Luchtmachtbasis De Peel), operated four Patriot batteries from 1987 onward, one of which was used for training.
Beginning in March 2007, the Dutch Patriot missile systems underwent a two-stage modernization. In the first phase, the software of the fire-control radar and the entire system was upgraded. The second phase involved the purchase of around 32 PAC-3 missiles along with a number of launchers, and the instruments in the fire-control cabins were also modified. The first missiles under this order were received in October 2007. The last batch of PAC-3 missiles, from a production lot also made for 11 other countries, including Poland, was purchased in January 2020.
Under a decision made in November 2015, as part of the project known as Verlenging levensduur Patriot, the government in The Hague plans to keep the Patriot system in service until at least the 2040s. It thereby abandoned plans to purchase the then-developing MEADS (Medium Extended Air Defense System). In October 2016, further modernization work was contracted to Raytheon and carried out between 2019 and 2022.
De oorlogen in Oekraïne en het Midden-Oosten onderstrepen het belang van sterke luchtverdediging. Daarom teken ik vandaag voor een extra Patriot Fire Unit.
Zo versterken we onze bescherming en die van onze NAVO-bondgenoten. pic.twitter.com/6suq4P6V9Z
— Derk Boswijk (@DefensieStas) April 7, 2026
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