Credit: Shutterstock photoWASHINGTON D.C. - Lockheed Martin ( LMT ) said Saudi Arabia is still looking at moving rapidly to buy its missile defense system despite the kingdom's interest in a Russian system.
[ibd-display-video id=2326967 width=50 float=left autostart=true] Riyadh "seems intent on moving quickly" with its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) order, Timothy Cahill, the VP of Integrated Air & Missile Defense told reporters at the annual Association of the United States Army conference Tuesday.
Late Friday, the State Department OK'd a possible $15 billion sale of 44 THAAD launchers and 360 missiles from Lockheed. Congress now has 30 days to approve the deal.
Cahill said he couldn't say how much of the $15 billion deal would go specifically to Lockheed but that it was "a very substantial sale" for the company.
After getting congressional approval, Saudi Arabia will then have to formally put in a contract for the system, but Cahill thinks that the deal will be done quickly.
There is a "sense of urgency on all parties."
Lockheed shares rose 0.1% to 317.71 on the stock market today , still in buy range from a 308.58 flat-base buy point.
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But Saudi Arabia also seems to be moving quickly on its deal for Russian system. On Monday, the Kremlin said that its own deal to sell Saudi Arabia the advanced S-400 system is progressing and wouldn't comment on whether Riyadh closing the THAAD deal would derail a deal for the S-400.
U.S. NATO ally Turkey also has plans to buy the S-400 system instead of the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS), which is jointly built by Lockheed as well as German and Italian defense companies.
Saudi Arabia isn't the only country with increasing interest in missile defense.
"The pace of inquiries, the depth of the inquiries and intensity are increasing month by month," Cahill said.
Last week, Australia said it will outfit its new naval warships with Lockheed's Aegis air-defense system, which is also used by the U.S. and Japan and would help the three navies coordinate on missile-defense missions.
Over the summer, Romania was cleared to buy seven Raytheon ( RTN ) Patriot missile defense systems. Lockheed builds PAC-3 interceptors for the system.
Cahill said Lockheed is getting interest from countries that didn't have a high priority on missile defense in the past. "If you're sitting anywhere in Europe you're interested in short-range defense after you saw what happened in Ukraine and Syria."
But as tensions heat up around the world, other countries are looking at more broad-range systems after recognizing that there are gaps in their capabilities.
The U.S. is also focused on increasing missile defense at home. The Defense Department has asked Congress to shift $416 million into missile defense programs like Lockheed's Aegis systems, Raytheon's Cobra Dane surveillance radar, and Raytheon's Sea-Based X-Band radar, which floats on a Boeing ( BA ) platform.
Raytheon dipped 0.2% to 187.69, near record highs and well extended from any buy point. Boeing climbed 1% to 260.93, hitting a new all-time high and now extended from a 246.59 entry.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
