Lockheed Martin has won a $932.8 million contract for the production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptor missiles for the US Missile Defense Agency and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“Lockheed Martin Corp., Missiles and Fire Control, Dallas, Texas, is being awarded a $932.8 million modification contract to exercise an option for the production of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors and associated one-shot devices to support the US government (USG) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case requirements,” the Pentagon in a statement.
In July 2019, the company was awarded $1.47 billion to build THAAD missile defense system for Saudi Arabia. The contract, the Pentagon had said then, brought the total value of the deal to $ 5.4 billion.
“The THAAD interceptors and associated one-shot devices will be procured under fixed-price incentive (firm target) contract line items. The value of this contract is increased from $5.3 billion to $6.3 billion,” the statement released on Tuesday read.
The country had signed a letter of offer and acceptance with the US for the procurement of 44 THAAD missile systems for an approximate $15 billion in November 2018. A $2.4 billion deal for THAAD interceptor missiles was inked between the two parties in April last year.
The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense is an anti-ballistic missile defense system made to shoot down short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Work for the new contract expected to be completed by April 1, 2026.
Raytheon has received a $2.3 billion U.S. Missile Defense Agency production contract for seven gallium nitride (GaN)-based AN/TPY-2 radars as part of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system.
THAAD is designed to protect against incoming ballistic missile threats. The contract is part of a foreign military sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a Raytheon release said.
“These highly capable X-band radars are the sharpest eyes in the global missile defense system,” said Bryan Rosselli, vice president of Strategic Missile Defense at Raytheon Missiles & Defense. “The addition of GaN technology delivers capability for threats to be detected, tracked and discriminated with improved radar reliability.”
The mobile AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar uses X-band to clearly see ballistic missile threats. The radar system operates in two modes: forward-based mode — which detects ballistic missiles and identifies any lethal objects as they rise after launch — and terminal mode as part of the THAAD system, which guides interceptors toward a descending missile’s warhead.
Of the 14 AN/TPY-2 radars produced, seven are fielded as a part of U.S.-operated THAAD systems, five operate in forward-based mode for the U.S., and two are part of foreign military sales.
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