UAE: Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and the missile shield programmenote

The Emiratis are serious about setting up an integrated missile shield to protect their country. For this purpose, they seek a $9bn deal for 288 PAC-3 missiles developed by Lockheed Martin and 216 Patriot GEM-T missiles developed by Raytheon. They also seek a $7bn deal for the Lockheed Martin’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system. The following 411-word article published in Tactical Report Weekly Brief’s issue of August 22, 2008, focuses on the UAE missile shield programme and on the need of the US mentioned missiles to achieve it. It also tells where the mentioned deals are blocked and what the Emiratis will do if the deals fail to go through.