Patriot GEM-T

Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical, an upgraded PAC-2-derivative interceptor with improved guidance electronics and low-altitude, low-radar-cross-section target performance. It bridges legacy PAC-2 rounds and the hit-to-kill PAC-3.

In service since 2002 · 10 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

150

km range

24,000

m altitude

targets

170

km radar

Pricing: Unit cost not publicly disclosed

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

US ITAR-controlled

Export needs U.S. State Dept (DDTC) approval; end-use & re-transfer restrictions apply.

Channel: Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or Direct Commercial Sale

Fielded & proven

Established · 10 operators

In service since 2002. Status: active.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from.

Interoperability

No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.

Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Full specifications

Performance

Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.

Max speed (Mach) Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.: 5 Mach

Stronger than 68% of air-defense systems
Engagement range Maximum distance at which an air-defense system can intercept targets. Higher covers more airspace.: 150 km

Stronger than 72% of air-defense systems
Engagement altitude Maximum target altitude the system can reach.: 24,000 m

Stronger than 60% of air-defense systems
Simultaneous targets Number of targets the system can engage at once. Higher resists saturation attacks.: 8

Stronger than 56% of air-defense systems

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Main armament Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.: MIM-104E interceptor missile
Warhead Warhead mass. Heavier generally means larger effect radius, at the cost of range.: 91 kg

Stronger than 79% of air-defense systems
Warhead type Blast-fragmentation, shaped charge (HEAT), penetrator, thermobaric or nuclear-capable.: Blast-fragmentation
Guidance How the weapon finds its target: inertial, GPS/GLONASS, active/semi-active radar, infrared, laser, TV, wire.: Track-via-missile, Semi-active radar homing

Sensors & avionics

Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.

Radar Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.: AN/MPQ-53/65 phased array radar
Radar range Published detection range against a typical fighter-sized target. Higher sees first.: 170 km

Stronger than 61% of air-defense systems
Datalink Network connectivity: Link 16, MADL, national datalinks. Enables cooperative engagement.: Patriot ICC command network

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.: 10

Stronger than 86% of air-defense systems

Specifications compiled from public Raytheon (RTX) and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.

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