US Approves $6.1 Billion Arms Sales to Middle East Partners

The United States Department of State approved potential arms sales totaling approximately $6.1 billion to Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Iraq. The largest portion of the package is dedicated to Saudi Arabia, which was cleared for a $5 billion purchase of over 10,000 Joint Direct Attack Munition-Extended Range (JDAM-ER) guidance kits and 10,004 general-purpose bombs in 500-pound and 2,000-pound variants. Boeing serves as the principal contractor for this precision-strike package.

In a separate deal, Washington approved the sale of AGT-1500 tank engines for M1 Abrams tanks to Saudi Arabia, valued at $750 million with Honeywell acting as the principal contractor. Other regional approvals include a $188 million sale of F-16 sustainment services to Oman and a $150 million sale of Bell 412EPX helicopters to Iraq.

The State Department stated these sales support national security by strengthening a major non-NATO ally and will not alter the regional military balance. The deals have been formally notified to the United States Congress, which has 30 days to block the transactions. These approvals come amid ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.