Overview
- Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry inaugurated the unit at the Air Defense Forces Institute in Jeddah after completing system tests and collective troop training.
- The inaugural crew graduated from THAAD operator training at Fort Bliss, Texas, in November and began deploying the battery domestically in February.
- In May, Arabian International Co. for Steel Structures delivered Saudi Arabia’s first domestically manufactured THAAD launcher components under a Lockheed Martin subcontract.
- A THAAD battery stationed at Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar intercepted Iranian ballistic missiles during the June conflict involving U.S. support for Israel.
- The activation fulfills part of a $15 billion agreement signed under President Trump, which includes additional batteries, launchers and interceptors to bolster Gulf air defenses.