US Approves Potential $5.75bn Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia

The United States has approved potential arms sales worth an estimated $5.75 billion to Saudi Arabia, including precision-guided munitions and tank engines, amid heightened regional security tensions.

The US State Department on Friday approved a potential $5 billion sale of Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) guidance kits and related equipment to Riyadh, with Boeing named as the principal contractor.

The package includes more than 10,000 guidance kits and a similar number of unguided bombs. The munitions are divided approximately equally between 500-pound and 2,000-pound bombs.

JDAM kits convert conventional bombs into precision-guided weapons, while the extended-range version allows aircraft to release them from greater distances.

Separately, the State Department approved a potential $750 million sale of 60 AGT-1500 tank engines to Saudi Arabia, with Honeywell serving as the principal contractor.

The engines are used to power M1 Abrams tanks.

The US government said the proposed sales would strengthen Saudi Arabia's ability to counter current and future regional threats, enhance its homeland defence capabilities and improve interoperability with US forces and other Gulf partners.

The deals come as Saudi Arabia faces missile and drone threats amid the wider regional conflict involving Iran and its allies.

However, the approvals do not mean the deals have been finalised.

The proposed sales have been formally notified to the US Congress, which has 30 days to review them.

The quantities and final value could also change during negotiations.