The United States is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package
25/4/2025 6:26
The United
States is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth
well over $100 billion, six sources with direct knowledge of the
issue told Reuters, saying the proposal was being lined up for
announcement during U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the
kingdom in May.
The offered package comes after the administration of former
President Joe Biden unsuccessfully tried to finalize a defense
pact with Riyadh as part of a broad deal that envisioned Saudi
Arabia normalizing ties with Israel.
The Biden proposal offered access to more advanced U.S.
weaponry in return for halting Chinese arms purchases and
restricting Beijing's investment in the country. Reuters could
not establish if the Trump administration's proposal includes
similar requirements.
The White House, Pentagon and Saudi government
communications office did not immediately respond to requests
for comment. In his first term, Trump celebrated weapons sales
to Saudi Arabia as good for U.S. jobs.
Lockheed Martin Corp could supply a range of
advanced weapons systems including C-130 transport aircraft, two
of the sources said. One source said Lockheed would also supply
missiles and radars.
RTX Corp, formerly known as Raytheon Technologies,
is also expected to play a significant role in the package,
which will include supplies from other major U.S. defense
contractors such as Boeing Co, Northrop Grumman Corp
and General Atomics, said four of the sources.
All the sources declined to be named due to the
sensitivity of the matter.
Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop and General Atomics declined
to comment. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Reuters could not immediately establish how many of the
deals on offer were new. Many have been in the works for some
time, two of the sources said. For example, the kingdom first
requested information about General Atomics' drones in 2018,
they said. Over the past 12 months, a deal for $20 billion of
General Atomics' MQ-9B SeaGuardian-style drones and other
aircraft came into focus, according to one of the sources.
Several executives from defense companies are considering
traveling to the region as a part of the delegation, three of
the sources said.
The U.S. has long supplied Saudi Arabia with weapons. In
2017, Trump proposed approximately $110 billion of sales to the
kingdom.
As of 2018, only $14.5 billion of sales had been
initiated and Congress began to question the deals in light of
the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In 2021, under Biden, Congress imposed a ban on sales of
offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi killing and
to pressure the kingdom to wind down its Yemen war, which had
inflicted heavy civilian casualties.
Under U.S. law, major international weapons deals must be
reviewed by members of Congress before they are finalised.
The Biden administration began to soften its stance on Saudi
Arabia in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine impacted
global oil supplies. The ban on offensive weapons sales was
lifted in 2024, as Washington worked more closely with Riyadh in
the aftermath of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack to devise a plan for
post-war Gaza.
A potential deal for Lockheed's F-35 jets, which the kingdom
has been reportedly interested in for years, is expected to be
discussed, three of the sources said, while downplaying the
chances for an F-35 deal being signed during the trip.
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.
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