Saudi gets first major arms deal under Biden with air-to-air missiles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The US State Department approved its first major arms sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under US President Joe Biden with the sale of 280 air-to-air missiles valued at up to $650 million, the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon notified Congress of the sale on Thursday. If approved, the deal would be the first sale to Saudi Arabia since the Biden administration adopted a policy of selling only defensive weapons to the Gulf ally.
The package would include 280 AIM-120C-7/C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), 596 LAU-128 Missile Rail Launchers (MRL) along with containers and support equipment, spare parts, US Government and contractor engineering and technical support.
Despite approval by the State Department, the notification did not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded.
