Lockheed Martin [LMT] is “imminently” close to a deal to produce Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptors for Qatar, according to a company executive.

Richard McDaniel, company vice president for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), said Sept. 23 Qatar will become the seventh international customer Lockheed Martin has either provided interceptors or started delivering interceptors, along with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Taiwan and Kuwait. The United States also uses PAC-3 interceptors. McDaniel said during a press briefing in downtown Washington Lockheed Martin will produce its 2,000th interceptor later this fall.

Lockheed Martin spokesman John Giese Sept. 24 deferred comment to the Defense Department, which did not respond by press time. Lockheed Martin is producing PAC-3 interceptors under contract from the Army international customers, according to Lockheed Martin. The PAC-3 interceptor is being incorporated into the Patriot air defense system.

The U.S. and Qatar, earlier this summer, signed letters of offer and acceptance for a potential $11 billion deal to buy U.S. Patriot, Javelin and AH-64 Apache helicopter.

Lockheed Martin also announced Sept. 23 the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) program completed a six-week performance test of its 360-degree multifunction fire control radar (MFCR) at locations in Italy and Germany. This was the first time the MFCR was operated in Germany, the company said in a statement.

During the tests, the MEADS MFCR successfully demonstrated several advanced capabilities, including tracking and canceling jamming signals; searching, cueing and tracking in ground clutter and successfully classifying target data using kinematic information. These capabilities are critical for ground-mobile radar systems, the company said.

The MFCR is an X-band radar employing active phased array technology using transmit/receive components developed in Germany. MEADS is a mobile air and missile defense system that uses PAC-3 interceptors against tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and aircraft. MEADS International, a multinational joint venture, is the prime contractor for the MEADS system. Major subcontractors and joint venture partners are MBDA in Italy and Germany and Lockheed Martin in the U.S.

The United States funds 58 percent of MEADS while Germany provides 25 percent and Italy 17 percent.