JAKARTA – The United States on Tuesday agreed to sell weapons packages worth nearly US$142 billion (Rp2,353,257,029,200,000) to Saudi Arabia, according to a White House fact sheet calling them the “largest defense cooperation agreement” Washington has ever made.
The agreement signed during US President Donald Trump’s visit to the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh and met with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, includes deals with more than a dozen US defense companies in various fields including air and missile defenses, air forces and space progress, maritime security and communications, the fact sheet said.
“The package signed today, the biggest defense cooperation deal in US history, is a clear demonstration of our commitment to strengthening our partnership,” the fact sheet said.
Earlier, Reuters reported last month that the weapons package would be worth more than 100 billion US dollars.
Reuters previously reported that Lockheed Martin Corp is expected to sell C-130 transport aircraft, missiles and radar as part of the deal.
CEOs of RTX Corp, Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp are expected to be in the kingdom, but the White House does not verify certain equipment or makers as part of a potential sale to Saudi Arabia.
Reuters could not immediately confirm how many new transactions were offered. Much has been done for some time, sources told Reuters.
Saudi Arabia is the largest customer of US weapons. In 2017, President Trump proposed the sale of around 110 billion US dollars to the kingdom.
As of 2018, only $14.5 billion had been started and Congress began to question the transaction, given the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The administration of former President Joe Biden tried but failed to resolve the defense pact with Riyadh, as part of a broad deal imagining Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel.
The White House fact sheet did not say whether Riyadh would be allowed to buy the F-35 Lockheed jet, a military aircraft that the kingdom has reportedly been in demand for years.
On the other hand, the two countries have discussed the potential purchase of the F-35 Lockheed jet by Riyadh, two sources briefed on the discussions told Reuters.
However, it is unclear whether Washington will allow the kingdom to resume purchases that will provide Saudi Arabia with advanced weapons used by its close US ally, Israel, one of the sources said.
A second source said the qualitative military advantage, or the US guarantees Israel received more sophisticated American weapons than Arab countries, is a problem that “has emerged.”
The source spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.
The government in the Gulf has long been looking for the most advanced fighter jets, which are built with stealth technology that will allow them to avoid enemy detection. If the US approves the transfer, Saudi Arabia will become the second Middle Eastern country after Israel operates its F-35 fighter aircraft.
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