US okays $5.75 billion munitions, engines sale to Saudi Arabia

The US State Department said it had approved the potential sale of Joint Direct Attack Munitions-Extend Range to Saudi Arabia for an estimated $5 billion. The principal contractor is Boeing, the state department said. The State Department also approved a possible sale of AGT-1500 engines to Saudi Arabia for an estimated $750 million. The principal contractor for sale of the engines is Honeywell, the department said, according to Reuters. “The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia’s airborne defence capability to counter current and future regional threats, strengthen its homeland defence, and improve interoperability with systems operated by US forces and other Gulf region partners,” the State Department said in a statement. The sale will also “support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a Major non-NATO Ally,” the department said.