US agrees to sell Saudi Arabia $142 billion arms package
By Reuters03 PM EDTUpdated 13 hours ago
Item
1 of 2 U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin
Salman pose for a group photo during the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder
[1/2]U.S.
President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman pose
for a group photo during the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum, in Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. REUTERS/Brian Snyder Purchase Licensing Rights RIYADH, May 13 (Reuters) - The
United States
agreed on Tuesday to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly
$142 billion, according to a White House fact sheet that called it "the
largest defense cooperation agreement" Washington has ever done.
The agreement, signed during U.S. President
Donald Trump's
visit to the Saudi capital Riyadh, covers deals with more than a dozen
U.S. defense companies in areas including air and missile defense, air
force and space advancement, maritime security and communications, the
fact sheet said.
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"The
package signed today, the largest defense cooperation deal in U.S.
history, is a clear demonstration of our commitment to strengthening our
partnership," the fact sheet said.
Reuters first
reported last month that the arms package would be worth well over $100 billion.
Reuters previously reported that Lockheed Martin Corp
(LMT.N) was expected to sell C-130 transport aircraft, missiles and radars as part of the deal. CEOs from RTX Corp
(RTX.N), opens new tab Boeing Co
(BA.N), opens new tab, Northrop Grumman Corp
(NOC.N), opens new tab
were expected to be in the kingdom, but the White House did not verify
any specific equipment or makers as a part of the potential sale to
Saudi.
Reuters
could also not immediately establish how many of the deals on offer
were new. Many have been in the works for some time, sources have told
Reuters.
Saudi Arabia is the largest customer for U.S. arms. In 2017, Trump proposed approximately $110 billion of sales to the kingdom.
As
of 2018, only $14.5 billion of sales had been initiated and Congress
began to question the deals in light of the murder of Saudi journalist
Jamal Khashoggi.
Former President
Joe Biden's administration tried unsuccessfully to finalize a defense
pact with Riyadh as part of a broad deal that envisioned Saudi Arabia normalizing ties with Israel.
The
White House fact sheet did not mention if Riyadh would be permitted to
purchase Lockheed's F-35 jets, the military aircraft that the kingdom
has reportedly been interested in for years.
The
two countries had discussed Riyadh's potential purchase of Lockheed's
F-35 jets, two sources briefed on discussions told Reuters.
However,
it was not clear if Washington would permit the kingdom to move forward
with a purchase that would give Saudi Arabia an advanced weapon used by
close U.S. ally Israel, one of the sources said.
The
second source said the qualitative military edge, or U.S. guarantees
that Israel receives more advanced American weapons than Arab states, is
an issue that "has come up."
The sources spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity.
Israel has owned F-35s for nine years, building multiple squadrons.
Governments
in the Gulf have long sought the most advanced fighter jet, built with
stealth technology allowing it to evade enemy detection. If the U.S. did
approve the transfer, Saudi Arabia would be only the second Middle East
state after Israel to operate F-35 fighters.
Reporting
by Pesha Magid in Riyadh and Mike Stone in Washington; Writing by
Andrew Mills; Editing by Mark Potter, David Gregorio and Andrea Ricci
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.