Two key Pentagon officials said April 9 that they are pleased so far with the Patriot system's performance in the war with Iraq.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronald Kadish, director of the Missile Defense Agency, told the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense panel that he "would characterize the overall performance as very encouraging" based on an analysis of preliminary data.

A mix of Lockheed Martin Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles and upgraded versions of the older Raytheon Patriot Advanced Capability-2 (PAC-2) missile have intercepted about nine Iraqi short-range ballistic missiles fired at U.S. forces and Kuwait. About four PAC-3 missiles have been used, a number that could have been higher if the Army had a larger inventory, Kadish said.

"From every indication I've seen from the data available, we have a pretty good combination of capability against these missiles, and effectively it provided a national missile defense capability" for Kuwait, Kadish testified.