DUBAI: The US State Department has approved the possible sale of a Thaad anti-missile defence system to Saudi Arabia at an estimated cost of $15 billion (Dh55 billion), the Pentagon said on Friday, citing Iran among regional threats.
The approval opens the way for Saudi Arabia to purchase 44 Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (Thaad) launchers and 360 missiles, in a deal set in motion by President Donald Trump’s visit to the kingdom in May.
In a statement to Gulf News, Lockheed Martin, the US company that produces the Thaad interceptor, called the sale a major endorsement of their technology.
“Lockheed Martin is supporting the US government and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as they discuss the potential Thaad procurement. This is a major endorsement of our missile defence capabilities, and we look forward to supporting the US and Saudi governments as they continue discussions,” a company spokeswoman said via email.
The US and Saudi Arabia were reported to have signed close to $110 billion in defence deals when Trump made his first trip as president to the Gulf state.
Financial services firm Cowen said in a note in May that Lockheed Martin was slated to be the biggest potential winner following the announcement of these deals.
On the sale of the Thaad missiles to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon’s Defence Security Cooperation agency said in a statement: “This sale furthers US national security and foreign policy interests, and supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian and other regional threats.”
Saudi Arabia and the United States are highly critical of what they consider Iran’s aggressive behaviour in the Middle East.
Iran also has one of the biggest ballistic missile programmes in the Middle East.
Thaad missile systems are deployed to defend against ballistic missile attacks.
Russia and Saudi Arabia jointly announced on Thursday that the kingdom had agreed to buy $3 billion worth of Russian arms, including S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.
The deal came as Saudi King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz made his visit to Russia, the first by a Saudi monarch.
Lockheed Martin Co is the prime contractor for the Thaad system, with Raytheon Co playing an important role in the system’s deployment.
The United States deployed Thaad to South Korea this year to guard against North Korea’s shorter-range missiles. That has drawn fierce criticism from China, which says the system’s powerful radar can probe deep into its territory.
— With inputs from agencies
