The Trump administration announced a massive weapons sale to Saudi Arabia worth nearly $142 billion, calling it the “largest defense sales agreement in history.” In exchange, Riyadh gave assurances that it would go ahead with $600 billion in investments in the United States.
The White House announced the deals on Tuesday as Trump visited the Gulf kingdom, noting they would cover energy, defense, mining and technology. It said the weapons sale would provide Saudi Arabia with “state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen US defense firms.”
The $142 billion military package will help Riyadh to upgrade its air force and missile defenses, coastal security, “space capabilities,” as well as its communications systems, and will include “extensive training and support to build the capacity of the Saudi armed forces,” the White House fact sheet added.
In addition to receiving weapons and gear from more than 12 US arms-makers, senior Boeing official Michael Strosnider told Saudi state TV on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia could soon be integrated into the global supply chain for the F-15EX fighter jet, though offered few details. Last year, the company said it was weighing a potential sale of F-15EXs to the kingdom, as well as a deal to upgrade its existing fleet.
The White House announcement went on to tout Riyadh’s “historic and transformative” $600 billion investment pledge, which will include a wide range of contracts with American Big Tech firms, billions for AI data centers and energy infrastructure in the US, and major purchases from Boeing and GE, among other deals.
“We will work in the coming months on the second phase to complete deals and raise it to $1 trillion,” Trump said in Riyadh during a four-day trip to the Middle East.
Accompanied by a number of American business leaders, including Elon Musk, the president is slated to travel to Qatar on Wednesday, and then onto the United Arab Emirates the following day.
Ahead of his visit to the UAE, the State Department on Monday said it had approved possible sales of CH-47F Chinook helicopters and F-16 fighter jet components to Abu Dhabi for a combined $1.4 billion. Those deals still require a final rubber stamp by lawmakers, however, with some Senate Democrats vowing to block the sales.
Much like Saudi Arabia, the UAE has pledged to invest some $1.4 trillion in the US economy over the next decade, likely seeking favorable weapons sales and other benefits in return.
Will Porter is assistant news editor and book editor at the Libertarian Institute, and a regular contributor at Antiwar.com. Find more of his work at Consortium News and ZeroHedge.
