Tom Laliberty, President of Land Warfare and Air Defense at Raytheon, unveiled that the company was collaborating with the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces to explore the potential of introducing new capabilities within the Kingdom, as part of its plans to act as a reliable partner for the Air Defense Forces, as well as its continuous initiatives to modernize and sustain the Patriot air and missile defense system.
These capabilities could include the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) and the Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS).
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Laliberty said that Raytheon was looking forward to integrating these capabilities with the existing Patriot systems.
He pointed to long-range concepts available in the Patriot system, medium-range systems with the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), in addition to short-range systems for countering unmanned aircraft such as the Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (LIDS).
“We seek to provide integration through all of these,” he underlined, adding that his company was working with the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces on these types of concepts.
- A trusted partner
As part of its plans in Saudi Arabia, Raytheon’s priorities revolve around continuing to serve as a reliable partner for the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces, and to modernize and maintain the Patriot air and missile defense system, Laliberty remarked.
He stressed his company’s ongoing participation in Saudi Arabia’s plans to localize the military industries sector, referring to the announcement of the manufacture of major parts of the enhanced guidance missiles for the advanced Patriot system, during the works of the World Defense Show in Riyadh last year.
- Localization of the military industry
Regarding the factors that help Saudi Arabia to localize the industry, Laliberty emphasized the importance of Vision 2030, which he said opened the way for a long-term plan that focuses on a wide range of industrial sectors.
“The Kingdom put in place an infrastructure to achieve this vision. For example, the General Authority for Military Industries is one of the agencies that we work closely with to provide opportunities for localization,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Laliberty noted that Raytheon places great importance on resources, as well as companies that possess technical capabilities within their existing operations or wish to invest in capital and knowledge transfer to develop competences in the country.
“There is no doubt that leadership, commitment and desire will ultimately lead to the success of this work,” he stated.
- The Jeddah Factory and the Patriot System
According to Laliberty, the dedicated factory in Jeddah for the local production of Prime Power Units (PPUs) used to power Raytheon’s AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar, which was inaugurated in cooperation with the Zahid Industries, would be a global supplier for Raytheon, not only for Saudi Arabia, stressing that the country has extensive capabilities to become part of the supply chain for defense industries.
“Our experience so far with Zahid Industries in the manufacture of main power units is very positive, as they will work on manufacturing a product that will not only be used in Saudi Arabia, but in our global supply chain,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
- Threats to the region
In light of the regional threats observed over the past years, , Raytheon’s senior executive pointed to the “opponent’s use of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, as well as a large number of drones or unmanned systems”, adding that Saudi Arabia possesses the THAAD system, which provides the outer layer of defense for long-range ballistic missiles, in addition to the Patriot missile system, which is a combination of air and missile defense capabilities to counter tactical ballistic missiles, all types of hostile aircraft, cruise missiles, and large drones.
He added that Raytheon has the advanced national surface-to-air missile system (NASAMS), which is characterized by its ability to confront cruise missiles, aircraft and large drones, in addition to the Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (LIDS).
“The ability of commanders on the battlefield to detect threats as quickly as possible gives them the greatest amount of time to identify the threats and the means to counter them,” the president of Land Warfare and Air Defense at Raytheon told Asharq Al-Awsat.
- Artificial Intelligence
Asked about artificial intelligence, Laliberty replied that it was an industry that had been around for decades. He explained that some Raytheon products have AI algorithms, and are often designed for a specific purpose.
“I think this is where the future lies, where you use AI as a true decision-making assistant to better help commanders organize battles,” he remarked.
- Riyadh’s World Defense Show
Laliberty confirmed that Raytheon would participate in the World Defense Show next year, through the new brand RTX, which was recently announced through its three subsidiaries, Raytheon, Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney.
“We are looking forward to participating in the exhibition, as we had a wide turnout last year,” he stated.
Regarding coordination between the GCC countries in defense systems, Laliberty said that it was great to see the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council having a dialogue about the systems and capabilities that they need.
He added, however, that it was in the Gulf Sates’ interests not to focus on interoperability, the concept of exchanging systems when needed, which can only happen if countries had the same systems.
He concluded by saying: “There is no doubt that we see strong cooperation between the Gulf countries today, and I believe that there is an urgent need for that.”
