First Saudis graduate THAAD training

The Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces' first THAAD trainees. (Saudi Arabia MoD)

The first Saudi personnel who will operate the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system have graduated from their training courses at Fort Bliss in Texas, the Saudi Ministry of Defense announced on 24 November.

It released a photograph showing around 100 personnel in front of a THAAD launcher.

The US Army Corps of Engineers announced on 19 November that it had refurbished Building 1093 at Fort Bliss to house a new THAAD academy, which it described as a partnership between the US Missile Defense Agency and Saudi Arabia to train Saudi personnel on the system. It said it had to complete the project within a strict timeline so the first class could begin on 15 July.

The US government approved the sale of 44 THAAD launchers with 360 missiles, 16 mobile tactical operations centres, and seven AN/TPY-2 radars to Saudi Arabia in 2017. Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, the THAAD's primary manufacturer, was awarded a USD946 million contract covering the initial aspects of the Saudi systems in March 2019 and Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems received a USD2.3 billion contract to deliver seven AN/TPY-2 radars.

RTX announced on 25 September that Raytheon had delivered the first AN/TPY-2 radar for Saudi Arabia, which it said was the first of the type with an array completely made using superior gallium nitride semiconductor material.

For more information, please see First Saudi THAAD sites expected to be completed in 2026.