Lockheed Martin secures $142.6M THAAD support deal for UAE
The United States Missile Defense Agency has awarded Lockheed Martin Space a $142.6 million contract modification to provide continued maintenance and sustainment support for two Terminal High Altitude Area Defense batteries operated by the United Arab Emirates, according to an official contract announcement.
Lockheed Martin Space, based in Sunnyvale, California, received the noncompetitive contract modification, identified as P00073, under an existing Foreign Military Sales case for the UAE. With this action, the total contract value increased to $876,747,896. The Missile Defense Agency in Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity under contract number HQ0147-19-C-5001.
According to the contract notice, the modification provides for continued operations, maintenance, and sustainment of two THAAD batteries in service with the UAE. The scope of work includes logistics management, maintenance of a logistics product database, training support, missile and ground repair and return activities, hardware and software development and sustainment, hardware-in-the-loop capabilities, engineering services, missile field surveillance programs, and country-unique specialty engineering support for the FMS customer.
Work under the modification will be performed at multiple locations, including sites in the United Arab Emirates as well as facilities in Sunnyvale, California; Grand Prairie, Texas; Camden, Arkansas; Huntsville and Anniston, Alabama; and Troy, Alabama. The performance period is scheduled to run from January 2026 through August 2028. UAE FMS funds totaling $142,621,543 are being obligated at the time of the modification. One offer was solicited and one offer was received.
THAAD is a U.S.-developed missile defense system designed to intercept short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during their terminal phase using hit-to-kill technology. The system is a central element of U.S. and allied ballistic missile defense architectures and is operated by the U.S. military and select international partners.
The UAE recently marked ten years since receiving its first THAAD battery, becoming the Missile Defense Agency’s first Foreign Military Sales customer and the first international operator of the system. According to Lockheed Martin, the UAE represented several milestones for the THAAD program, including being the first recipient of THAAD hardware delivered by Lockheed Martin outside the United States and the location of the system’s first operational engagements.
Lockheed Martin delivered the first THAAD battery to the UAE in October 2015. The company said the delivery positioned THAAD as a core element of the country’s missile defense architecture. At the time, the UAE was already operating Patriot PAC-3 air and missile defense systems, and the integration of THAAD created a layered defense structure intended to counter a range of ballistic missile threats.
The sustainment contract modification supports the continued operational readiness of the UAE’s THAAD batteries as part of that layered architecture. Ongoing maintenance, logistics, and engineering support are required to ensure system availability, interceptor readiness, and integration with other air and missile defense assets.
