HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Lockheed Martin Space has received a $211.4 million contract modification from the U.S. Department of War to manufacture and deliver new Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launchers for the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The contract is being managed by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) in Huntsville, Alabama, under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The latest award will add new launcher hardware to the UAE’s existing THAAD ballistic missile defense capability.
The contract modification, identified as P00082 under contract HQ0147-19-C-5001, increases the cumulative value of the original contract to $1.0545 billion. The latest work is funded entirely through UAE FMS funds. The contracting announcement does not disclose the number of launchers included in the order.
Production to Continue Through January 2031
Manufacturing will be carried out by Lockheed Martin at its facility in Sunnyvale, California. Production is scheduled to run from August 2026 through January 2031.
The new launchers will use the Configuration 3 (C3) standard. The contracting announcement does not provide additional technical details about the specific C3 hardware included in this procurement.
The award represents a change from several earlier modifications under the same UAE THAAD contract, which have primarily supported maintenance, logistics, training, repair and sustainment of the UAE's existing systems.
UAE's Existing THAAD Capability
The UAE operates two THAAD batteries, according to the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. The agency states that both batteries have been procured and delivered and are fully operational.
The UAE was THAAD's first international customer. Earlier procurement provided the country with two AN/TPY-2 radars and nine launchers. The UAE's THAAD system became operational before its first combat use in January 2022.
The MDA says the UAE successfully used THAAD to intercept ballistic missiles during attacks in January 2022, marking the first operational THAAD intercept in a combat environment by any nation.
Lockheed Martin currently lists the UAE as one of THAAD's two international customers, alongside Saudi Arabia.
What THAAD Provides
THAAD is a land-based ballistic missile defense system designed to intercept ballistic missiles during their terminal phase of flight, both inside and outside the atmosphere. The system uses hit-to-kill technology, destroying the incoming warhead through kinetic impact rather than a conventional explosive warhead.
A THAAD battery includes mobile launchers, interceptors, an AN/TPY-2 X-band radar, and fire-control and communications equipment. The MDA states that each launcher can carry up to eight interceptors.
The system is designed to engage short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats during their terminal flight phase.
New Launcher Capacity for the UAE
The $211.4 million contract therefore adds new THAAD launcher production to the UAE's existing missile-defense program. While the U.S. contracting announcement does not identify the quantity of launchers being purchased, it confirms that the equipment will be produced in the modernized Configuration 3 standard.
The procurement will be completed through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales framework and will further expand the launcher hardware available to the UAE's existing THAAD force.
The latest award comes as the United States and Lockheed Martin continue broader efforts to expand THAAD production capacity. In June 2026, the U.S. government awarded Lockheed Martin a separate seven-year contract of up to $35 billion to increase THAAD interceptor production.
——— End of Article ———
