WASHINGTON — The US State Department said on Friday it was approving military sales totaling over $8.6 billion to Middle Eastern allies Israel, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates.
The announcements came as the US and Israel’s war against Iran marked nine weeks since its start and more than three weeks since a fragile ceasefire came into effect.
Friday’s announcements by the State Department included approving military sales to Qatar of Patriot air and missile defense replenishment services costing $4.01 billion and of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) — a laser-guided weapons kit — costing $992.4 million.
They also included approval of the sale to Kuwait of an integrated battle command system costing $2.5 billion and to Israel of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems costing $992.4 million.
The State Department approved a sale to the UAE of APKWS for $147.6 million.
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The principal contractor in the APKWS sales to Qatar, Israel, and the UAE was BAE Systems, the State Department said.
A Patriot missile mobile launcher is displayed outside the Fort Sill Army Post near Lawton, Oklahoma, on March 21, 2023. (AP/Sean Murphy, File)
RTX and Lockheed Martin were the principal contractors in the integrated battle command system sale to Kuwait and in the Patriot air and missile defense replenishment sale to Qatar, the State Department added.
Northrop Grumman was also a principal contractor in the Kuwaiti sale.
Throughout the war with Iran, Washington’s Gulf allies came under attack from Iranian missiles and drones despite not being directly involved in the conflict.
Trump confirmed on Friday that he had been briefed about additional military options in Iran, and expressed dissatisfaction with a new ceasefire proposal by Tehran.
Israel launched its campaign against Iran, alongside the US, to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities. The ceasefire declared by Trump last month came with core declared goals of the war unfulfilled, including ensuring that Iran does not attain nuclear weapons, destroying its missile program, and creating the conditions for the Iranian public to overthrow the regime.
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