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On November 4th, the U.S. State Department approved its first major arms sale to Saudi Arabia under U.S. President Joe Biden.
The deal is for 280 air-to-air missiles valued at up to $650 million, the Pentagon said.
The Pentagon notified Congress of the sale on November 4th.
.@StateDept authorizes a proposed Foreign Military Sale #FMS to #SaudiArabia for their purchase of up to 280 AIM-120C-7/C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and related equipment for an estimated cost of up to $650 million. #FMSUpdate — https://t.co/yRFGtkrFPC pic.twitter.com/TsoBgJrbSg
— Political-Military Affairs, US Dept of State (@StateDeptPM) November 4, 2021
“We’ve seen an increase in cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia over the past year. Saudi AIM-120C missiles, deployed from Saudi aircraft, have been instrumental in intercepting these attacks that also U.S. forces at risk and over 70,000 U.S. citizens in the Kingdom at risk.”
Basically, the US could argue that this is a purely “defensive” purchase that can’t be used to engage ground targets and notably kill civilians, for which Saudi Arabia is infamous at this point.
“The AIM-120C is an Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile which is not used to engage ground targets.
We are moving forward with notifying Congress of this proposed sale to replenish Saudi Arabia’s existing inventory in keeping with the President’s commitment to support the territorial defense of Saudi Arabia.”
Now Congress needs to vote on it. If approved, the deal would be the first sale to Saudi Arabia since the Biden administration adopted a policy of selling only defensive weapons to the Gulf ally.
The sale “is fully consistent with the administration’s pledge to lead with diplomacy to end the conflict in Yemen,” the State Department spokesperson said in a statement. The air-to-air missiles ensure “Saudi Arabia has the means to defend itself from Iranian-backed Houthi air attacks,” he said.
After the Trump administration’s friendly relationship with Riyadh, the Biden administration recalculated its approach to Saudi Arabia, a country with which it has severe human rights concerns, but also a key ally in Washington’s attempts to contain Iran.
The package would include 280 AIM-120C-7/C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM), 596 LAU-128 Missile Rail Launchers (MRL) along with containers and support equipment, spare parts, U.S. Government and contractor engineering and technical support.
This comes amid harsh criticism against Saudi Arabia for its military onslaught on Yemen. The kingdom, backed by the US and regional allies, launched a war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing Ansarullah movement.
It also comes at a time when the Kingdom needs any help it can get, as the Houthis it fights against in Yemen have had a string of significant success in the past several months. The strategic and oil-rich city of Ma’rib is likely to fall soon and that would be a massive impediment to Saudi Arabia’s adventure in Yemen.
#ICYMI: At least 8 children have reportedly been killed or injured in escalating violence in #Yemen in the past 5 days.
👉 More than 10,000 children have been killed or maimed since the escalation of the war – the equivalent of 4 children every day https://t.co/7dKciKoxP9 pic.twitter.com/jWzAMwwDki
— World BEYOND War (@WorldBeyondWar) November 4, 2021
Prior to February’s announcement, the Biden administration imposed a temporary freeze on all arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates pending a review of deals inked during the tenure of former President Donald Trump.
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