Washington — A spokesman at the Pentagon announced that the US Department of Defense supported the State Department’s decision to sell weapons and missiles to Saudi Arabia.
The State Department’s announced deal includes the weapons sale of 280 AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) to Saudi Arabia, worth up to $650 million.
You may also like to read: Saudi Arabia’s race to become a tech hub
The weapon sale also included 596 LAU-128 Missile Rail launchers (MRL); in addition to containers, weapon support and support equipment, spare and repair parts, US government; and contractor engineering, technical and logistical support services.
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that the proposed deal was approved on Oct. 26 after an increase in cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia over the year.
He added that Saudi Arabia’s AIM-120C missiles had a crucial role in intercepting the drone attacks that endangered American forces. In addition, it caused a threat to more than 70,000 American citizens in the Kingdom.
The spokesman said that the sale would enable Saudi Arabia to defend itself from the Iran-backed Houthis air attacks. The US State Department has stated; that there would be no adverse impact on US defense readiness due to this proposed sale.
