A proposed U.S. weapons sale to Saudi Arabia of Boeing Co. F-15 fighter jets also includes as many as 132 Boeing Apache attack helicopters and United Technologies Corp. UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters that bring the total value of the package to around $60 billion, Bloomberg News reports, quoting a government official familiar with the plan.
As previously reported, the Pentagon and State Department about two weeks ago informally notified congressional committees that handle arms sales of the planned transaction, the official said.
But Bloomberg disclosed new details about the deal, including the Black Hawks built by UTC’s Sikorsky Aircraft division in Stratford.
“I think it would be the largest ever,” said William Hartung, director of the New York City-based New America Foundation’s Arms and Security Initiative.
“Other deals that used to be considered large,” like the $9 billion sale of 72 F-15s to the Saudis in 1992-93 or the kingdom’s $9 billion acquisition of U.S. AWACS surveillance aircraft in 1981, “aren’t even in the ballpark, even allowing for inflation,” Hartung said.
The package includes 84 F-15s at a cost of $30 billion and helicopter sales totaling about $30 billion that include spare parts, training simulators, long-term logistics support and some munitions.
The Saudis would buy about 72 UH-60 Black Hawks and as many as 60 AH-64D Longbow Apaches, the official said.
The Longbow is the U.S. Army’s premier anti-tank helicopter, capable of firing laser-guided or all-weather air-to-ground missiles. The Longbows are in addition to 12 that Congress in 2008 cleared Boeing to sell to the Saudis.
