Zahid Industries Joins Forces with Raytheon to Craft Cutting-Edge Missile Defense Power Units
Zahid Industries has inaugurated a specialized manufacturing plant in Jeddah for the domestic production of Prime Power Units (PPUs) utilized to operate Raytheon’s AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar. This endeavor is directly aligned with the Kingdom’s defense sector strategy, which seeks to achieve its ambitious goals of localizing over 50-percent of spending on defense equipment and services by the year 2030.
The AN/TPY-2 represents the globe’s most sophisticated mobile radar capable of detecting, tracking, and distinguishing ballistic missiles and is currently operational worldwide.
“The inauguration of this facility today will empower Zahid Industries to adopt world-class manufacturing practices, while fostering and generating opportunities for a Saudi workforce to deliver a final product that will stand unparalleled in quality and reliability,” stated Yousuf T. Zahid, a board member of Zahid Industries. “Zahid is eager to contribute to the Kingdom’s strategic alliances with global partners, bolstering Saudi Arabia’s strategic independence and supporting initiatives to establish a local defense manufacturing sector. We anticipate collaborating closely with Raytheon to help fulfill Vision 2030’s industrialization goals.”
The factory inauguration signifies a significant landmark in a localization accord signed in 2021 between the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI) and Raytheon Saudi Arabia, a fully owned subsidiary of the prominent global aerospace and defense entity Raytheon Technologies. Under this agreement, Zahid Industries has been chosen to produce the PPUs domestically and will now serve as a strategic supplier of PPUs for Raytheon’s AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar.
“Raytheon Saudi Arabia is dedicated to establishing a resilient defense supply chain within the Kingdom,” remarked Roy Donelson, chairman of Raytheon Saudi Arabia. “We are thrilled to declare that the local production of a vital component of our proven AN/TPY-2 missile defense radar will commence today in Saudi Arabia.”
In 2019, Raytheon Saudi Arabia became the pioneering company in the Kingdom to finalize an Industrial Participation Agreement (IPA) with GAMI to localize a Patriot Deep Maintenance and Refurbishment (DMR) System contract for the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces. This IPA has expedited the Kingdom’s objective of cultivating an independent military and security sector as part of Vision 2030.
