The US State Department has approved a potential $9-billion Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (PAC-3 MSE) interceptors and related equipment.
Saudi Arabia has requested up to 730 PAC-3 MSE missiles, along with launcher conversion kits, spare parts, and associated logistics and program support elements.
“The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing advanced air defense missiles as part of an upgraded integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) system, thereby enhancing its air defense capability,” the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency stated.
“This enhanced capability will protect land forces of Saudi Arabia, the United States, and local allies and will significantly improve Saudi Arabia’s contribution to IAMD in the CENTCOM (Central Command) region.”
Lockheed Martin will serve as the principal contractor, and the proposed sale will not require the deployment of any additional US government or contractor personnel to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s Patriot Batteries
Riyadh has been a long-standing Patriot operator since the early 1990s, fielding multiple batteries across the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia’s air and missile defense inventory includes a mix of PAC-2 GEM-T interceptors, which use blast-fragmentation warheads optimized for engaging aircraft and cruise missiles, and PAC-3 interceptors, which employ hit-to-kill technology to defeat ballistic missile threats at ranges of up to 75 miles (120 kilometers) and altitudes of around 22 miles (36 kilometers).
The approval is intended to replenish the inventory of PAC-3 interceptors and comes just days after Lockheed Martin and the US Department of Defense signed a landmark framework agreement to more than triple PAC-3 MSE production over the next seven years.
Under the deal, annual output is set to increase from around 600 missiles to approximately 2,000.
-
-
-
-
-
