A proposed US weapons sale to Saudi Arabia of Boeing Co F-15 fighter jets also includes as many as 132 Boeing Apache attack helicopters and United Technologies UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters that bring the total value of the package to around $60 billion, according to a government official familiar with the plan.
The Pentagon and State Department about two weeks ago informally notified congressional committees that handle arms sales of the planned transaction, the official said.
Willam Hartung, director, Arms and Security Initiative, New America Foundation, New York City, said: “I think it would be the largest ever.”
He added: “Other deals that used to be considered large, like the $9 billion sale of 72 F-15s to the Saudis in 1992-93 or the kingdom’s $9 billion acquisition of US AWACS surveillance aircraft in 1981, aren’t even in the ballpark, even allowing for inflation,”
The package includes 84 F-15s at a cost of $30 billion and helicopter sales totalling about $30 billion that include spare parts, training simulators, long term logistics support and some munitions.
The Saudis would buy about 72 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and as many as 60 AH-64D Longbow Apaches, the official said.
The Longbow is the US Army’s premier anti tank helicopter, capable of firing laser guided or all weather air to ground missiles. The Longbows are in addition to 12 that Congress in 2008 cleared Boeing to sell to the Saudis.
The proposal fits the Obama administration’s strategy of buttressing the defense capabilities of Middle East allies to counter Iran’s growing offensive missile might and suspected nuclear weapons program. It would be part of the Gulf Security Dialogue started by the Bush administration.
The Longbow Apache has been sold to Egypt, Israel, Greece, Kuwait, the UAE, the Royal Netherlands Air Force, Singapore and Taiwan. Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin provide the Apache’s radar and sensors.
The Pentagon intends to formally notify the Senate and House foreign affairs panels by mid September of the final arms package, the official said.
Hartung said: “In the past, a record setting deal to a region of tension like the Arabian Gulf would have drawn considerable congressional opposition. That does not seem to be the case this time around.”
He added: “Other foreign policy issues from Iraq and Afghanistan to the consideration of the New START treaty, seem to have taken up most if not all of the attention Congress can or will spend on foreign policy matters.”
The US Senate is scheduled to consider the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with Russia when it returns next month from its summer recess.
Saudi Arabia’s last significant US weapons purchase was 72 F-15s in 1992, a transaction valued at as much as $9 billion. The last planes in that contract were delivered in November 1999.
The kingdom spent $36.7 billion worldwide on arms and support activities from 2001 to 2008, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.
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