WASHINGTON — The US State Department on Friday night announced a potential sale of almost $6.7 billion in new weapons for Israel, including large orders of AH-64E Apache helicopters and Joint Light Tactical Vehicles.
That was followed roughly two hours later by an even larger number, with the announcement of the potential sale of PAC-3 Patriot missile interceptors for Saudi Arabia, with a potential price tag of $9 billion.
The Israel package is broken into four Foreign Military Sales (FMS) cases: 30 AH-64E Apache helicopters valued at up to $3.8 billion, 3,250 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles with an estimated cost of $1.98 billion, Namer Armored Personnel Carrier Power Packs with an estimated cost of $740 million and an unlisted number of AW119Kx Light Utility Helicopters, with an estimated cost of $150 million.
The Saudi deal would cover the sale of 730 PAC-3 missiles, along with assorted support equipment. Earlier this month, Lockheed and the Pentagon announced an agreement to triple PAC-3 production to 2,000 a year by the end of 2030.
“The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats by providing advanced air defense missiles as part of an upgraded integrated air and missile defense (IAMD) system, thereby enhancing its air defense capability,” according to the announcement. “This enhanced capability will protect land forces of Saudi Arabia, the United States, and local allies and will significantly improve Saudi Arabia’s contribution to IAMD in the [US Central Command] region.”
The announcements, issued in the form of congressional notifications from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), is not final. Quantities and dollar totals often shift during negotiations, and today’s announcement technically tees up an opportunity for lawmakers to block the deal within a 30-day period, though such a step is rare.
Boeing and Lockheed Martin are the prime contractors on the Apache, AM General is the lead on JLTV, Rolls-Royce is the main contractor for the Namer power packs and Leonardo Helicopters is the prime on the AW119Kx. Lockheed is the principal contractor for the PAC-3 missiles.
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FMS cases take some time to develop, but the timing of the announcement may raise eyebrows, as the US is currently increasing its force posture in the region for potential action against Iran. Were that to happen, both Israel and Saudi Arabia would potentially be in the line of fire for any retaliation from Tehran.
It also comes after Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu told The Economist earlier this month that he wants to “taper” Israel off of military aid from the US. The two nations currently operate under a decade-long military aid agreement, negotiated by the Obama administration.