JEDDAH (Agencies): The Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces (RSADF) have begun deploying their first Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) exoatmospheric ballistic missile interception system. This significant development was revealed during the annual graduation event at the Air Defense Forces Institute in Jeddah.
The Saudi Ministry of Defense released a video showing RSADF commander Lieutenant General Mazyad Sulaiman al-Amro attending the event. During the ceremony, a poster indicated that the THAAD deployment began on either 2 or 3 Shaban 1446, corresponding to 1 or 2 February.
The THAAD system, developed by Lockheed Martin, is designed to intercept and destroy short-, medium-, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles during their terminal phase of flight. With an operational range of approximately 200 kilometers and a flight ceiling of about 150 kilometers, THAAD can reach speeds up to Mach 8.2, or 10,000 kilometers per hour. It utilizes the AN/TPY-2 radar, the largest air-transportable X-band radar globally, and features an indium-antimonide imaging infrared seeker head for accurate targeting.
This announcement follows the graduation of the first Saudi THAAD operators from their training courses at Fort Bliss in Texas in November 2024. The first Saudi THAAD battery was initially not expected to be operational for another year, as a request for proposals released by the US Army Corps of Engineers in 2022 revealed that the first site at Ras al-Ghar on the Gulf coast was expected to be completed in February 2026, with all seven sites completed by April 2028.
In addition to the THAAD deployment, a second poster at the Air Defense Forces Institute indicated that a system including the Thales Ground Master 200 (GM200) air surveillance radar and RapidRanger short-range air-defense system entered service on 6 February. Thales advertises this combination as one option for its ForceShield range. The RapidRanger is a versatile, vehicle-based air defense system designed for rapid reaction to aerial and ground threats. It can integrate and fire a variety of missiles, including Thales’ STARStreak and Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM), and features a 360-degree surveillance sensor, including day, low light, and thermal imager cameras, along with an Automatic Target Tracker (ATT) for autonomous operation.
Both a GM200 and a RapidRanger were displayed on the institute’s parade ground for the graduation, alongside other systems previously known to be in service with the RSADF. This marks the first confirmation that the ForceShield has been delivered to Saudi Arabia.