By Ryan Morgan and Andrew Thornebrooke
Contributing Writer
The United States and Saudi Arabia have finalized a deal for the Gulf monarchy to receive nearly $142 billion in new weapons, military equipment, and training support, the White House announced on Tuesday.
The agreement is part of a larger $600 billion deal for Saudi Arabia to expand its economic ties with the United States. The White House announced the deal at the start of President Donald Trump’s planned four-day tour of the Middle East.
In a fact sheet it released on Tuesday, the White House called the $600 billion overall deal “the largest set of commercial agreements on record between the two countries,” with the military component alone representing “the largest defense sales agreement in history.”
According to the White House, the military portion of the agreement will cover “state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen U.S. defense firms.”
Included on the list of new arms transfers are air and space systems, air and missile defense, maritime and coastal security, and systems to help secure Saudi Arabia’s land borders, modernize the Saudi military’s land forces, and upgrade the Saudi military’s communications systems.
“The package also includes extensive training and support to build the capacity of the Saudi armed forces, including enhancement of Saudi service academies and military medical services,” the White House said.
Saudi Arabia has maintained largely positive diplomatic and military relations with the United States and has been a leading purchaser of U.S.-made military systems for years.
During his first administration, Trump cultivated deep ties with Saudi Arabia through massive arms deals that were not always fulfilled. In 2017, he oversaw the signing of agreements between Saudi officials and American defense contractors totaling some $110 billion. Those deals aimed to furnish the Gulf power with advanced tanks, warships, air and missile defense systems, and cybersecurity technologies. Similarly, in 2020, Trump approved the sale of F-35 advanced fighter jets, Reaper drones, and air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia.
In both circumstances, however, Congress objected to the sale of arms, passing resolutions demanding to limit the flow of arms to Saudi Arabia following the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The CIA concluded that his assassination was ordered by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who signed the new economic agreement with Trump on Tuesday.
Despite congressional efforts to hold back the flow of arms to Saudi Arabia, both the Trump and Biden administrations continued to successfully approve additional sales to Riyadh, largely to encourage Saudi Arabia’s war against the Houthis in Yemen, which the Trump administration designated as a terrorist organization.
At the height of the Yemeni civil war, a Saudi-led coalition intervened to help the internationally recognized Yemeni government fight against the Houthi rebels, who had seized the Yemeni capital of Sana’a in 2014. The United States provided this Saudi-led coalition with logistical and intelligence support for their efforts against the Houthis.
Earlier this month, the United States announced an additional sale of air-to-air missiles to Riyadh, totaling some $3.5 billion.
“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,” read a statement published by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
