Raytheon
US defence contractor; direct €3.2bn German contract for GEM-T Patriot interceptors opens a non-FMS Ukraine supply route.
Raytheon's GEM-T Patriot interceptors anchor Western air defence for Ukraine and the Gulf. Germany signed a direct €3.2 billion commercial contract with Raytheon on 14 April 2026, opening a non-FMS supply route that still cannot stop the ballistic missiles Ukraine most needs.
Last refreshed: 12 August 2026 · Appears in 4 active topics
Does Germany's direct Raytheon contract get Patriot interceptors to Ukraine faster than the US queue?
Timeline for Raytheon
Won the $22.9bn Tomahawk production contract
Iran Conflict 2026: Navy buys seven years of TomahawksSigned a framework agreement to increase SM-3 component production
Iran Conflict 2026: SM-3 deals announced without any numbersUnveiled the HADALUS uncrewed underwater vehicle
Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea: Raytheon claims 2,000 miles under waterFired its Coyote HPM Block 3 microwave system in the demonstration.
Drones: Industry & Defence: Hegseth watches five laser weapons fireMentioned in: Air Force hands robot fighter to upstarts
Drones: Industry & DefenceBackground
Raytheon builds the Patriot air-defence system and the Coyote counter-drone interceptor family, putting it at the centre of concurrent demand from the Ukraine, Gulf and Indo-Pacific theatres in 2026. On 12 August, Raytheon and Composite Energy Technologies unveiled HADALUS, an uncrewed underwater vehicle the companies say can travel more than 2,000 nautical miles submerged at a fifth of the cost of comparable systems, a claim made at unveiling rather than after independent testing.
The company's air-defence exports have drawn political scrutiny on both sides of The Atlantic. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued an emergency waiver in March 2026 bypassing congressional review for Gulf arms sales that included Raytheon-built radar and counter-drone systems, while Germany's direct GEM-T Patriot contract the following month opened a supply route to Ukraine that does not require US sign-off.
That export reach sits alongside a cost problem. Raytheon's Patriot and PAC-3 MSE interceptors cost millions of dollars each against drones costing a few thousand, and rivals including AeroVironment are fielding directed-energy weapons pitched at a few dollars per shot, pressure Raytheon's own reusable Coyote demonstration is designed to answer.
Germany buys Patriot interceptors directly
Germany signed a direct commercial contract worth roughly €3.2 billion with Raytheon on 14 April 2026 for several hundred GEM-T Patriot interceptors, bypassing the US foreign military sales queue that had stalled Ukraine's requests. A new production line is planned at Schrobenhausen.
The next day Zelenskyy told German broadcaster ZDF that Ukraine's Patriot situation "could not be any worse." GEM-T intercepts drones and Cruise Missiles but not the ballistic Iskander and Kinzhal missiles Russia fires at Ukrainian cities; the PAC-3 MSE interceptors that do remained frozen under a separate White House export suspension, leaving Raytheon supplying the deal Berlin could legally sign rather than the one Kyiv actually needs.
Coyote interceptors now anchor Raytheon's growth
Raytheon's counter-drone effectors, chiefly the Coyote interceptor family, crossed 40 per cent of the company's Raytheon-segment sales with double-digit growth reported at Q1 2026 earnings on 21 April. The United Arab Emirates received Foreign Military Sales approval for Coyote the same week, and Raytheon demonstrated a non-kinetic, reusable Coyote variant that engages a drone swarm, returns to base, recharges and redeploys. Raytheon's LIDS system set the template rivals are still following: its detect-to-destroy integration won a $1 billion contract in 2022, the logic DroneShield borrowed when it added a kinetic interceptor to its own platform in March 2026.
The reusable-Coyote demonstration answers a cost problem: Patriot and PAC-3 MSE interceptors cost millions each against drones costing a few thousand, and rivals are now pitching directed-energy defence at a few dollars a shot.
Reference
What is the reusable Coyote drone and how does it work?
What is the difference between GEM-T and PAC-3 Patriot interceptors?
What is Raytheon's Coyote HPM Block 3?
How much of Raytheon's revenue comes from missiles and effectors?
What is Raytheon's role in the Golden Dome missile defence programme?
Why does Germany have a separate Raytheon Patriot contract outside US Foreign Military Sales?
Can Raytheon produce enough Patriot interceptors for two wars?
