Accessibility links

Breaking News
USA

US Approves Possible $15B Sale of THAAD Missiles to Saudi Arabia


A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency.
A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor is launched during a successful intercept test, in this undated handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Defense, Missile Defense Agency.

The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale of a THAAD anti-missile defense system to Saudi Arabia at an estimated cost of $15 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 Defense (THAAD) launchers and 360 missiles, as well as fire control stations and radars.

“This sale furthers U.S. 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,” the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation agency said in a statement.

Iran's missile program a concern

Saudi Arabia and the United States are highly critical of what they consider Iran's aggressive behavior in the Middle East.

Iran also has one of the biggest ballistic missile programs in the Middle East, viewing it as an essential precautionary defense against the United States and other adversaries, primarily Gulf Arab states and Israel.

THAAD missile systems are deployed to defend against ballistic missile attacks.

Saudi-owned al Arabiya television reported on Thursday that the kingdom had agreed to buy Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, an announcement that came as Saudi King Salman made during his visit to Russia, the first by a Saudi monarch.

U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia have come under increased scrutiny over the Saudi-led coalition's war in Yemen.

Lockheed Martin is prime contractor

Riyadh and its allies have been bombing the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen since the Houthis seized much of the country's north in 2015. Riyadh says the coalition is fighting terrorists and supporting Yemen's legitimate government but the office of the U.N. human rights chief has said Saudi-led airstrikes cause the majority of civilian casualties.

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the THAAD system, with Raytheon 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.

  • 16x9 Image

    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

XS
SM
MD
LG