Saudi Arabia and UAE to purchase US weapons worth billions
Illustrative photo: The US will sell weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE for billions of dollars (army mil)
The US Department of State has greenlighted multi-billion-dollar defense contracts with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The State Department approved a potential sale of 2,503 AGM-114R3 Hellfire II anti-tank missiles with semi-active laser guidance systems to Saudi Arabia. These missiles are used by AH-64A/D/E Apache helicopters. The contract is valued at $655 million, with Lockheed Martin serving as the primary contractor.
The US also approved a contract to supply Saudi Arabia with 220 AIM-9X Block 3 air-to-air missiles for F-15 fighter jets. This deal is worth $251 million, with Raytheon as the contractor.
Saudi Arabia will also purchase 105mm M456 high-explosive anti-tank rounds, used by M60A3 tanks, along with other ammunition. The total value of this request is $139 million.
Moreover, the US has approved the sale of ATACMS missiles and GMLRS rounds, along with related systems, to the UAE for $1.2 billion.
Earlier, the US approved the sale of approximately 600 Patriot air-defense missiles to Germany. Romania and Norway will acquire AIM-120 air-to-air missiles from the US in deals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
