US agrees to sell Saudi Arabia $142 billion arms package

RIYADH (Reuters) - The U.S. 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.

"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.

Saudi Arabia is the largest customer for U.S. arms.

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.

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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.

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