On May 3, the U.S. State Department approved the potential sale of the Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC)-3 air defense system to Bahrain. This would mark the first Patriot sale to Bahrain. The potential sale includes: 60 PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles, 36 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM-T) missiles with canisters, nine M903 launchers, two AN/MPQ-65 radar sets, and other associated equipment. The deal is estimated at $2.48 billion USD.

On the same day, the U.S. State Department also announced its approval for the potential sale of 452 PAC-3 MSE interceptors to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The deal is estimated at $2.73 billion USD. The PAC-3 uses hit-to-kill technology to intercept air and missile threats. It was first used in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.