Saudi Arabia Responds to Iran Deal: Give Us 600 Patriot Missiles | World Defense

Saudi Arabia Responds to Iran Deal: Give Us 600 Patriot Missiles

Gasoline

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Saudi Arabia Responds to Iran Deal: Give Us 600 Patriot Missiles


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The Kingdom’s request for additional interceptors could be the first of many new Mideast arms purchases aimed at warding off Iranian missiles.



Just two weeks after Western nations and Tehran struck a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program, the Pentagon says Saudi Arabia wants to buy 600 new Patriot missile interceptors.


The $5 billion-plus purchase is likely just the first of many more as America’s Middle Eastern allies arm themselves in response to the nuclear deal, which would lift Iran’s conventional-arms embargo sanctions in five years and sanctions on long-range missile projects in eight.

“We saw this coming,” said Thomas Karako, a missile defense expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “This is the consequence of leaving the Iranian missile program intact and in fact signaling sanctions will go down on it.”

Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council allies have been upping their missile defenses in recent years. In April, Riyadh bought $2 billion worth of Patriots, and just last week, the Pentagon bought $1.5 billion worth of Patriots for Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, South Korea — and Saudi Arabia again.


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“We’re going to see more of this,” Karako said. “So long as the Iranian missile threat exists, GCC and other countries in the region are going to have to invest in counters offensive and defensive.”

Iran has the largest and most diverse missile program in the Middle East, made up of short-range, long-range, anti-ship and cruise missiles, experts say. Middle Eastern nations have as little as four minutes to act if Iran fires one of these missiles their way.

Middle Eastern nations are also likely to boost buys of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, interceptors, which can reach farther than Patriot to shoot down missiles.

UAE has already purchased THAAD and Saudi and Qatar are interested in the system. Also likely to pick up steam is the sale of a massive missile-tracking radar to Qatar.

The U.S. has been urging the GCC members to network their missile defense equipment together to better detect launches and so multiple countries don’t fire interceptors at the same missile.

The Saudi deal announced Wednesday is for the newest version of Patriot, called PAC-3. “The proposed sale will modernize and replenish Saudi Arabia’s current Patriot missile stockpile, which is becoming obsolete and difficult to sustain due to age and limited availability of repair parts,” the Pentagon wrote in its required notification to Congress of the deal. “The purchase of the PAC-3 missiles will support current and future defense missions and promote stability within the region.”

In June, Saudi Arabia used a Patriot to shoot down a Scud missile launched by Houthi rebels in Yemen.



Saudi Arabia Responds to Iran Deal: Give Us 600 Patriot Missiles - Defense One
 

LilAnn

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over $5 billion for 600 patriot missiles? thats over 800,000$ per missile. If the US is making that kind of money on weapons that they sell other countries, how are we in debt?
 

Lieutenant

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over $5 billion for 600 patriot missiles? thats over 800,000$ per missile. If the US is making that kind of money on weapons that they sell other countries, how are we in debt?

That's probably includes life cycle logistic support, training, spare parts and maintenance.
 

Rowe992

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Saudi Arabia should try and focus on peace in the region rather than being anxious for a war with Iran. Saudi Arabia is the commerce center of the middle east and they should just focus on that aspect of their country.
 

Gasoline

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Saudi Arabia should try and focus on peace in the region rather than being anxious for a war with Iran. Saudi Arabia is the commerce center of the middle east and they should just focus on that aspect of their country.

You're right, but these are defensive weapons against the ballistic missiles threats .It's not to be used against anyone .
 

Gasoline

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LilAnn

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I'm obviously in the wrong business.

Just out of curiosity, Being as rich as they are could they not have had all this already? Or are they working on an as needed basis?
 

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WASHINGTON, Jul 29, 2015 - The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missiles and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of $5.4 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on July 28, 2015.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested a possible sale of six hundred (600) Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Cost Reduction Initiative (CRI) Missiles with containers, eight (8) PAC-3 CRI Test Missiles for fly-to-buy. Also included are PAC-3 Telemetry Kits, PAC-3 Guidance Enhanced Missile (GEM) Flight Test Target/Patriot as a Target (PAAT) missiles, Fire Solution Computers, Launcher Modification Kits, PAC-3 Missile Round Trainers, PAC-3 Slings, Patriot Automated Logistics System (PALS) Kits, Shorting Plugs, spare and repair parts, lot validation and range support, support equipment, repair and return, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, Quality Assurance Team, U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total cost is $5.4 billion.

The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a partner which has been, and continues to be, an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.

The proposed sale will modernize and replenish Saudi Arabia’s current Patriot missile stockpile, which is becoming obsolete and difficult to sustain due to age and limited availability of repair parts. The purchase of the PAC-3 missiles will support current and future defense missions and promote stability within the region. Saudi Arabia, which already has Patriot missiles in its inventory, will have no difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed forces.

The proposed sale will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractors will be Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Dallas, Texas; and Raytheon Corporation in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Although offsets are requested, they are unknown at this time and will be determined during negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the contractor.

Implementation of this sale will require approximately thirty (30) U.S. Government and forty (40) contractor representatives to travel to Saudi Arabia for up to sixty (60) months for equipment de-processing, fielding, system checkout, training, and technical logistics support.

There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale.

This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, [email protected].

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Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) – Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Missiles and Support Equipment | The Official Home of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency
 

LilAnn

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he Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested a possible sale of six hundred (600) Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) Cost Reduction Initiative (CRI) Missiles with containers, eight (8) PAC-3 CRI Test Missiles for fly-to-buy. Also included are PAC-3 Telemetry Kits, PAC-3 Guidance Enhanced Missile (GEM) Flight Test Target/Patriot as a Target (PAAT) missiles, Fire Solution Computers, Launcher Modification Kits, PAC-3 Missile Round Trainers, PAC-3 Slings, Patriot Automated Logistics System (PALS) Kits, Shorting Plugs, spare and repair parts, lot validation and range support, support equipment, repair and return, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, Quality Assurance Team, U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total cost is $5.4 billion.
I'm almost speechless. Thats a pretty long list. $5.4 billion is still an awful lot of money, but it seems a little more reasonable now.
 
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