The US State Department has approved a potential Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Kuwait in relation to the repair and recertification of Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) missiles and related support, the US Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) announced on 20 September 2023.
The potential sale, worth an estimated cost of USD 150 M (EUR 140.65 M), has been passed to the US Congress for final approval.
Kuwait has requested the replacement of expiring limited-life components and certifications testing in order to support an operational life of 30 years for its PAC-3 missiles. Included in this potential sale are: the testing and repairing of PAC-3 missiles; stockpile reliability testing and field returns; repair and return of classified and unclassified PAC-3 missile items and ground support equipment (GSE) component-level parts; replenishment of classified and unclassified missile spares, GSE spares, and seeker spares; tools to improve the turnaround time of the repair and recertification efforts; air transportation services for missile processing; an various other aspects of technical, logistics, training and programme support.
The Kuwaiti Air Defence Command has 35 M902 Patriot PAC-3 launchers, according to the International Institute of Strategic Studies’ 2023 edition of The Military Balance.
The PAC-3 missile is made by Lockheed Martin, which would be the principal contractor for this FMS.
Peter Felstead
