The Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces (RSADF) officially commissioned their first Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) unit during a ceremony Wednesday at the Air Defense Forces Institute in Jeddah, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
قوات #الدفاع_الجوي تُدشّن أول سرية من نظام الدفاع الجوي الصاروخي «الثاد» بعد استكمال اختبار وفحص وتشغيل منظوماتها، وتنفيذ التدريب الجماعي الميداني لمنسوبيها داخل أراضي المملكة.https://t.co/INwREUn6Yj pic.twitter.com/Z3B4j7s551
— وزارة الدفاع (@modgovksa) July 2, 2025
Lt. Gen. Mazyad Al-Amro, RSADF commander, presided over the event, handing the unit’s flag to the commander of the 1st Air Defense Group.
The induction follows THAAD system testing and personnel training at Fort Bliss, Texas, with the first group graduating in November 2024 and the second in April 2025.
THAAD, developed by Lockheed Martin, intercepts ballistic missiles using kinetic energy during their terminal phase. Saudi Arabia aims to deploy seven THAAD batteries by 2028.
In May 2025, the first domestically produced THAAD launcher components were completed in Jeddah as part of a localization effort under a partnership with Lockheed Martin.
