The US State Department has granted preliminary approval for a $3.5 billion agreement, authorizing the sale of advanced missiles and weaponry to Saudi Arabia, as confirmed by the Pentagon, before US President Donald Trump’s scheduled visit to the region later this month.
The package features 1,000 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and 50 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM guidance sections for Saudi Arabia.
The proposed sale is now being reviewed by the US Congress. Legislators usually evaluate these deals and may, at times, prevent them from proceeding.
In March, Washington authorized the sale of precision-guided weapon systems to Saudi Arabia, continuing a series of US-Saudi arms agreements during Trump’s administration.
Trump is set to make his first overseas trip later this month, with Saudi Arabia as his initial stop, followed by visits to the UAE and Qatar.
In his first term, Trump celebrated weapons sales to Saudi Arabia as good for US jobs.
Trump signed a massive $110 billion arms deal with the Saudis during his maiden overseas trip to Riyadh in May 2017, boasting that it was going to make and save “billions of dollars and millions of jobs” in the US.
The United States guarantees that its close ally Israel receives more advanced American weapons than Arab states, giving it what is labeled a “Qualitative Military Edge” (QME) over its neighbors.
Israel has now owned F-35s for nine years, building multiple squadrons.
MNA/
