The Pentagon plans to sell its bunker buster bombs and cruise missiles for $10.8 billion to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The deal follows a series of US weapons trades in recent years that have bolstered the air power and missile arsenals of Gulf states, which view Iran as a menacing rival with nuclear ambitions.
The
deal follows a series of US weapons trades in recent years that have
bolstered the air power and missile arsenals of Gulf states, which view
Iran as a menacing rival with nuclear ambitions.
It
includes shipping 1,000 GBU-39/B bombs to Saudi Arabia and 5,000 to the
UAE. They have air-deployed wings, which allow them to strike targets
as far away as 110km. Their warheads can penetrate up to a meter of
reinforced concrete.
The
planned sale also includes Standoff Land Attack Extended Range
(SLAM-ER) and Joint Standoff Weapons (JSOW) cruise missiles. Both are
meant for destroying surface targets from a long distance, allowing
warplanes to stay out of the range of enemy air defenses.
The
Saudis will purchase 650 of the Boeing-manufactured SLAM-ERs and 973
Raytheon-made JSOWs, as well as other missiles. They are to pay $6.8
billion for the hardware, parts, training and logistical support.
The
United Arab Emirates is due to buy $4 billion worth of weaponry,
including the bunker buster bombs, 300 SLAM-ERs and 1,200 JSOW missiles.
Back
in April, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced plans to sell $10
billion worth of arms to Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. This week’s
announcement details the munitions that the Gulf monarchies are seeking.
The
arms sale is expected to prompt renewed criticism from human rights
groups and opponents of rulers in both Gulf states, which have cracked
down on internal dissent and backed repression by Egypt’s
military-backed leadership.
The
United States recently scaled back its military assistance to Egypt in
the wake of a military coup that ousted the country’s first
democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.
Congress has 30 days to block the sale but most lawmakers have endorsed previous weapons deals with the Gulf countriesmore:
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