The US State Department has approved the possible sale of a THAAD anti-missile defense system to Saudi Arabia at an estimated cost of $15 billion, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The proposed sale “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a friendly country” and will not alter the basic military balance in the region, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation agency said in a statement.
Lockheed Martin Co. and Raytheon Co. are the principal contractors for THAAD or Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.