Ours Is Better Than Yours

By SOPHFRONIA SCOTT GREGORY

THE MISSILE MEN AT RAYTHEON COULD HARDLY CHEER ABOUT Pentagon reports that its wonder weapon Patriot was less successful than briefers claimed during the gulf war. Now they have to contend with Almaz, the Russian makers of an antimissile system called the SA10B "Grumble." The boys at Almaz believe their system is faster and better than the Patriot, so they're proposing an international shoot-out between the two systems to prove it. Raytheon, however, refuses to deal in "p.r. gimmickry" and says the Russians are only trying to elbow in on a hot product: complete Patriot systems sell for a cool $55 million, and they're moving fast.