Concerns over Yemen as Saudi Arabia Agrees to Buy $7 Bln in Weapons from US Firms
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Saudi Arabia agreed to buy about $7 billion worth of precision guided munitions from US military contractors, sources familiar with the matter said.
The deal may be objected by some lawmakers over American weapons having contributed to civilian deaths in the Saudi campaign in Yemen.
Raytheon [rtn, -0.57%] and Boeing [ba, -0.72%] are the companies selected, the sources said, in a deal that was part of a $110 billion weapons agreement that coincided with US President Donald Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia in May.
Both companies declined comment on the weapons sale.
Arms sales to the kingdom and other Gulf Cooperation Council member states became increasingly contentious in the US Congress, which must approve such sales.
The State Department has yet to formally notify Congress of the precision guided munitions deal.
"We do not comment to confirm or deny sales until they are formally notified to Congress," a State Department official said, adding the US government will take into account factors "including regional balance and human rights as well as the impact on the US [military] industrial base."
Meanwhile, a US government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the agreement is designed to cover a 10-year period and it could be years before actual transfers of weapons take place.
The agreement could be held up in Congress, where Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced in June that he would block arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other members of the GCC, over a dispute with Qatar, another US ally in the Gulf.
In November 2016, the administration of President Barack Obama, a Democrat, halted the sale of $1.29 billion worth of precision guided weapons because of concerns about the extent of civilian casualties in Yemen.
That sale process started in 2015 and included more than 8,000 Laser Guided Bombs for the Royal Saudi Air Force. The package also included more than 10,000 general purpose bombs, and more than 5,000 tail kits used to inexpensively convert "dumb" bombs into laser or GPS-guided weapons.
US lawmakers have grown increasingly critical of the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen. The coalition had briefly banned naval, air and land transportation to Yemen following a missile fired by the Houthis that was shot down over the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The Senate in June voted 53 to 47 to narrowly defeat legislation that sought to block portions of the 2015 package.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
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