On 28 May 2020, U.S. Defence Security Cooperation Agency published a notice on a major Patriot sale to Kuwait. The sale notification to Kuwait is at a total estimate of $1.425 billion. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the sale.
Packages
The US State Department approved three packages to upgrade Kuwait's Patriot Missile Systems. The first package is for sustainment and technical assistance at the estimated cost of $425. The second is eighty-four (84) Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancements (MSEs) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $800 million. The third is a patriot missile repair and return program at an estimated cost of $200 million.
The prime contractor for the sale of up to 84 Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) Missile Segment Enhancements (MSEs) and related equipment is Lockheed Martin Corporation, the DSCA said in its statement.
The repair and return program involves shipping items the service of which at cannot be on the ground back to the U.S. military for refurbishment, and then inducted into the military’s regular repair cycle. When the repairs are complete, the parts are shipped back to the country that owns them, and then Kuwait is billed for the repairs.
Meeting Future Threats
These proposed packages "will improve Kuwait's capability to meet current and future threats and provide greater security for its critical oil and natural gas infrastructure," said DSCA in its releases. More significantly, "Kuwait will use the enhanced capability to strengthen its homeland defence. Kuwait will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and support into its armed forces."
However, this notice of this potential patriot sale to Kuwait does not mean that the sale is final. The Congress still needs to pass the deal, then after that Kuwait enters the negotiations phase. Moreover, the quantity and details of the sale might differ after negotiations.
Furthermore, work will take place at different locations. Mainly, in the Huntsville, Alabama, locations of Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Leido and KBR. Additionally, work on the PAC-3 missile segments will be done at Lockheed’s Dallas, Texas, office.
