U.S. Marines load an AIM-120 air-to-air missile on an AV-8B Harrier in preparation for a training exercise at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C., in September 2024. (Matthew Williams/U.S. Marine Corps)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United States has given initial approval to sell $3.5 billion worth of air-to-air missiles for Saudi Arabia’s fighter jets, the latest proposed arms deal for the region ahead of President Donald Trump‘s planned trip to the Middle East later this month.
The sale, announced early Saturday, likely will be one of several heralded by Trump on his visit to the kingdom. Saudi Arabia has already said it wants to invest $600 billion in the United States over the next four years, likely as a way to woo Trump to again pick the kingdom for his first formal trip as president. Trump traveled to Italy briefly for Pope Francis’ funeral.
Trump’s 2017 trip to Saudi Arabia upended a tradition of modern U.S. presidents typically first heading to Canada, Mexico or the United Kingdom for their first trip abroad. It also underscored his administration’s close ties to the rulers of the oil-rich Gulf states as his eponymous real estate company has pursued deals across the region.
The arms sale involves 1,000 AIM-120C-8 advanced medium range air-to-air missiles, guidance sections and other technical support. The missiles will be built by RTX Corp of Tucson, Ariz.
The Royal Saudi Air Force has the world’s second-largest fleet of F-15 fighter jets after the U.S.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that contributes to political stability and economic progress in the Gulf Region,” the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.
The proposed sale now goes to the U.S. Congress. Lawmakers typically weigh in on such sales and, in some cases, can block them.
Saudi Arabia has faced intense Congressional scrutiny for years, first for launching a war on Yemen’s Houthi rebels back in 2015 that saw the kingdom’s airstrikes kill civilians. Then a Saudi assassination team killed Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
The U.S. intelligence community concluded the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who likely will meet Trump on his visit this month and met with President Joe Biden in his term, ordered the operation against Khashoggi. The kingdom insists the prince was not involved in the killing.
Trump maintained close ties to the Gulf states after leaving office. His second administration has already given initial approval for the energy-rich Mideast nation of Qatar to buy eight armed MQ-9B Reaper drones for its military, a purchase estimated to be worth nearly $2 billion.
