--- title: "Roughly 200 US troops are headed to Saudi Arabia to help protect against Iranian missiles and drones" description: "The Pentagon is sending a Patriot missile battery and four radars to Saudi Arabia." date: "2019-09-26" modified: "2019-09-26" authors: - name: "Jeff Schogol" job_title: "Senior Pentagon Reporter" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jeff-schogol.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/200-troops-deploy-saudi-arabia/" categories: - "News" --- # Roughly 200 US troops are headed to Saudi Arabia to help protect against Iranian missiles and drones ![]() What the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff described last week as a "moderate deployment" to Saudi Arabia has turned out to be modest indeed – at least, so far. The Pentagon is sending a battery of Patriot missiles and four Sentinel radars – about 200 U.S. troops in total – to bolster Saudi Arabia's air and missile defense, Chief Pentagon Spokesman Jonathan Hoffman announced on Thursday. Another two Patriot batteries along with a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system could be sent to Saudi Arabia if needed, Hoffman said. The Saudis requested U.S. military aid following a recent attack on that country's oil refineries, which the U.S. government blames on Iran. "The attack on Sept. 14th against Saudi Arabian oil facilities represents a dramatic escalation of Iranian aggression," Defense Secretary Mark Esper said during a Sept. 20 Pentagon news conference. "It is clear, based on detailed exploitation conducted by Saudi, the United States and other international investigative teams, that the weapons used in the attack were Iranian produced and were not launched from Yemen, as was initially claimed. All indications are that Iran was responsible for the attack." ## Author Jeff Schogol is the former senior Pentagon reporter for Task & Purpose. He reported on both the Department of Defense as a whole and individual services, covering a variety of topics that include personnel, policy, military justice, deployments, and technology. ### Author social links [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]() [Twitter]() ## More - [Desert Shield Part II: Pentagon sending US troops to Saudi Arabia]() - [Report: US-Made Missile Defense System Failed 5 Separate Times During Yemeni Rebel Attack On Saudi Arabia]() - [Pentagon: We won’t reveal proof Iran is behind recent Middle East attacks, but have we ever been wrong before?]() - [Soldier who died from attack on Saudi Arabia was ‘nothing less than a hero’]() - [Navy destroyer, air defense systems help intercept Iranian missiles]() - [It could take the US military 3 years to restock its missile defenses]() - [At least 200 US troops wounded in Iran war, Pentagon says]() - [USS Boxer shoots down Iranian drone as the US and Iran edge closer to conflict]()