The US State Department has approved the potential sale of 3,000 precision guided munitions to Saudi Arabia in a deal valued at up to $290 Million, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
The sale comes in the final days of US President Donald Trump’s term.
President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the Middle East’s biggest buyer of American weapons, in a bid to pressure Riyadh to end its intervention in Yemen that has been launched to contain Iranian influence and restore the internationally-recognised government of Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
The package would include 3,000 GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb I (SDB I) munitions, containers, support equipment, spares and technical support, the Pentagon said.
US green lights sale of 3,000 bombs worth $290 million to Saudi Arabia & flurry of other Middle East arms deals
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The US State Department has approved the possible sale of 3,000 precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia, alongside more than $4 billion in… https://t.co/fZorwHn4Tm pic.twitter.com/vSWrKUddgR
“The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats by increasing its stocks of long-range, precision air-to-ground munitions,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
It added that “the size and accuracy of the SDB I allows for an effective munition with less collateral damage.”
The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale on Tuesday.
Despite approval by the State Department, the notification does not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded.
The Pentagon said Boeing Co was the prime contractor for the weapons.
U.S. to sale of 3,000 precision-guided munitions GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb I (SDB I) Munitions worth $290 Million to Saudi Arabia.
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The GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb I was developed by Boeing Co and went into production a decade ago. The compact size and precision guidance allow warplanes to accurately strike more targets per sortie while minimising collateral damage, Boeing says.
The Pentagon also announced on Tuesday that the State Department approved the potential sale of Apache helicopters and spare parts for the Patriot missile system to Kuwait in two deals worth approximately $4.2 billion.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
