THE APEX TIMES
RTX’s Raytheon to invest $100 million in Rhode Island to scale LTAMDS testing and Patriot GEM-T production
The Portsmouth, R.I. expansion is intended to increase capacity for Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor radar trials and boost output of Patriot missile interceptor subcomponents.
RTX said it is investing $100 million to expand a Raytheon facility in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, aiming to increase capacity for Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor testing and to raise production of Patriot GEM-T missile subcomponents for growing missile-defense demand.
The expansion, announced June 8, 2026, is expected to accelerate LTAMDS radar testing while also supporting Patriot GEM-T output, Raytheon said. Tom Laliberty, president of Raytheon’s Land & Air Defense Systems, said the Portsmouth site will help scale production, advance LTAMDS testing, and deliver systems to the U.S. Army and international partners more quickly.
Raytheon said it is under contract for multiple LTAMDS radars for the U.S. Army and Poland. The company also said the program recently completed its ninth successful flight test, using LTAMDS’s multiple arrays to track and intercept a surrogate target.
RTX’s release also described LTAMDS as a radar designed to defeat advanced threats, including hypersonic weapons. Raytheon did not provide additional technical milestones in the announcement beyond the flight-test update.
On the Patriot side, the company said the Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) Guidance Enhanced Missile-Tactical, or GEM-T, is designed to intercept airborne threats, including tactical ballistic missiles, and serves as a primary “effector” for the combat-proven Patriot air and missile defense system.
Raytheon said the Portsmouth campus has operated within Rhode Island for more than 60 years and currently employs more than 850 people. The company added that the project is intended to bring 150 high-tech jobs to the state.
The company did not disclose a construction timeline, specific equipment purchases, expected increases in test throughput, or projected delivery schedules for LTAMDS or GEM-T output. It also did not specify whether the investment is tied to new award announcements, existing options, or manufacturing backlog.
What to watch next is whether RTX and Raytheon provide further detail on the ramp plan after the Portsmouth expansion is underway, and whether follow-on procurement announcements for LTAMDS radars or Patriot-related components come from the U.S. Army or international customers.
Key facts grounded in the company’s announcement include the $100 million investment, the Portsmouth location, and the stated focus on LTAMDS testing capacity and Patriot GEM-T subcomponent production. The release also linked the move to recent progress on the LTAMDS flight-test program and employment impacts in Rhode Island.
Why It Matters
- Layered air and missile defense programs depend on both sensors and interceptors, so capacity upgrades that speed radar testing can affect delivery timelines for fielding decisions.
- Increasing Patriot GEM-T subcomponent production indicates sustained demand for interceptor-related work amid ongoing missile-defense modernization efforts.
- If Portsmouth expansion improves throughput, it may reduce scheduling bottlenecks for LTAMDS trials and for integrating radar capability into air and missile defense architectures.
- The job-creation element underscores how defense ramp-ups can translate into localized industrial capacity, which may be increasingly important to customers managing supply-chain constraints.
Sources
Key Facts
- RTX, through its Raytheon unit, said it will invest $100 million to expand its Portsmouth, Rhode Island facility.
- The project is intended to accelerate Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) testing by increasing capacity and to boost Patriot GEM-T subcomponent production.
- Raytheon said it is under contract for multiple LTAMDS radars for the U.S. Army and Poland.
- Raytheon said LTAMDS recently completed its ninth successful flight test, using multiple radar arrays to track and intercept a surrogate target.
- Raytheon described LTAMDS as a radar designed to defeat advanced threats, including hypersonic weapons.
- The company said Raytheon employs more than 850 people in Rhode Island and expects the project to bring 150 high-tech jobs to the state.
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