The UAE operates one of the most advanced integrated air and missile defence networks in the world.
Since Iran began striking Gulf states on February 28, 2026, that network has intercepted 425 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,941 drones till date.
Built around the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, the Patriot PAC-3 missile defence platform, and a growing counter-drone architecture, the UAE’s layered defence structure covers threats across the full altitude spectrum, from exoatmospheric ballistic missiles to low-flying Shahed drones.
Moreover, the United States, recognising the urgency of the conflict, has fast-tracked nearly $4 billion in emergency arms sales to bolster that capability further.
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On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on sites and cities across Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several other officials.
Retaliation from Iran was swift and wide-ranging, with missile and drone strikes directed at all six Gulf Cooperation Council member states simultaneously
In the UAE, the attacks have resulted in the deaths of two military personnel, a Moroccan civilian contractor working for the Armed Forces, and eight civilians of Pakistani, Nepali, Bangladeshi, Palestinian and Indian nationalities. A total of 178 people have been injured.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed that the UAE reserves its full right to take all necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty, national security, and territorial integrity, and to ensure the safety and security of its citizens and residents, in accordance with its inherent right of self-defense under international law, stating that the country would not yield to what he described as “unprovoked terrorist attacks.”
THAAD, Patriot, FS-LIDS: How the UAE is stopping Iran’s missiles
The uppermost tier of the UAE’s defence architecture is the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system.
Developed by Lockheed Martin as prime contractor, managed by the US Missile Defense Agency, and operated by the US Army, THAAD is the only American system engineered to engage ballistic missile threats at both endoatmospheric and exoatmospheric altitudes. Rather than using an explosive warhead, it destroys incoming missiles through direct collision.
Each THAAD battery is built around five core components: interceptors, launchers, a fire control unit, a radar, and ancillary support equipment.
The system is designed for short-, medium-, and limited intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
The UAE was the first country outside the United States to procure THAAD, signing on in 2011.
Lockheed Martin reached the milestone of its 600th THAAD interceptor delivery in 2021, and the following year the system was used in a live-fire exercise to successfully launch PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement interceptors, demonstrating direct integration between the two platforms.
Iran targeted THAAD radar installations in Jordan, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia in the opening days of the conflict, destroying at least one site.
Saudi Arabia became the second international THAAD customer in 2019.
Along with THAAD sits the Patriot PAC-3 system, produced by RTX, which forms the foundation of integrated air and missile defence for 19 nations.
The system includes radars, command-and-control technology, and multiple interceptor types capable of engaging tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, and aircraft.
The UAE’s experience with Patriot predates the current conflict by more than a decade.
According to the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), a non-profit organisation that advocates for the development and deployment of missile defence systems to protect the United States, its forces, and its allies, the UAE and Saudi Arabia have fielded Patriot systems.
Since 2015, Patriot has intercepted over 150 ballistic missiles in combat operations globally.
More than 90 of those intercepts involved the Guidance Enhanced Missile family of surface-to-air missiles. The system has now been used in more than 250 combat engagements by five nations. Its development is underpinned by more than 3,000 ground tests and over 1,400 flight tests.
RTX has also delivered more than 240 Patriot fire units. The system’s architecture is designed to be upgraded continually, with a modernisation roadmap extending to 2048 and beyond, funded jointly by the 19-nation Patriot partnership.
FS-LIDS: The UAE’s counter-drone defence system
Iran used Shahed drones extensively in strikes across the Gulf. On March 19, the US Department of State approved the sale to the UAE of ten Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS) System of Systems, at an estimated cost of $2.10 billion.
The principal contractors are RTX Corporation of Tewksbury, Massachusetts; Northrop Grumman of Huntsville, Alabama; and SRC Corporation of Syracuse, New York.
Each FS-LIDS system includes Ku Band Multi-Function Radio Frequency System (KuMRFS) radars, 240 Coyote Block 2 all-up-rounds, Coyote 4-pack launcher systems, Electro Optical Infrared cameras, and Forward Area Air Defence Command and Control systems. The system is purpose-built to detect and defeat the small, slow, low-flying unmanned aircraft that have proven capable of evading higher-tier systems and causing damage to civilian infrastructure.
The State Department determined that “an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale” of the equipment, invoking Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act to waive the standard Congressional review period.
The State Department noted in each determination that the UAE “is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Middle East” and that all three sales would “support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States.”
F-16 munitions: $644 million
The same emergency authority was used to approve a $644 million package of F-16 munitions and upgrades, with Lockheed Martin of Greenville, South Carolina as principal contractor.
The sale includes 1,500 GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bombs Increment I – a precision-guided glide weapon capable of striking multiple targets in a single pass – alongside 900 KMU-556 Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance sets and 300 KMU-557 JDAM guidance sets, which convert unguided bombs into precision weapons. Supporting equipment includes FMU-139 fuze systems, laser target detectors, Link 16 ground support, encryption hardware, navigation systems, and a Joint Mission Planning System.
The State Department said the sale “will improve the UAE’s ability to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity to meet its national defense requirements.”
400 AMRAAMs: $1.22 billion
A third emergency sale covers 400 AIM-120C-7 or AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles and eight AIM-120C-8 guidance sections, at an estimated cost of $1.22 billion. RTX Corporation of Arlington, Virginia is the principal contractor.
The State Department said the sale “will further advance the high level of UAE Air Force interoperability with US Joint Forces and other regional forces” and will improve the UAE’s capability “to meet current and future threats by ensuring it has modern and capable air-to-air munitions.”
Across all three packages, Washington invoked emergency powers, bypassing the standard Congressional review period. In each case, the Secretary of State determined that an immediate sale was required in the national security interests of the United States.
