Saudi Arabia has reached an agreement with Lockheed Martin to purchase four Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships worth US$6 billion.
The deal is a part of overall $110-billion foreign military sale, and is expected to be announced during President Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh Saturday.
The US and the Saudi ministry of defence “designed and negotiated a package worth $110 billion,” vice-admiral Joseph Rixey, head of the Pentagon’s defence security co-operation agency, said Friday. “When completed, it will be the largest single arms deal in American history,” he added.
The $6-billion deal will include spares, training and other logistics items.
"The primary difference between the Freedom-class and the Saudi-variant is the lack of modular mission space found in the US version of the Littoral Combat Ship," the United States Naval Institute (USNI) said Friday.
The LCS was designed to counter small surface craft attacks, diesel submarine threats and asymmetrical mine threats, according to published reports. Modular mission space refers to a method to quickly and easily remove and replace specialized equipment used for different combat missions.
The US and Saudi Arabia will also sign a letter of agreement for about $500 million in what could become a $3.5 billion deal for as many as 48 CH-47 Chinook helicopters and related equipment built by Boeing. That sale was approved by the state department and congress in December, said an official.
Saudi Arabia plans to produce 16000 items for its armed forces locally by 2020. The long-term goal would be to focus on producing at least 50 percent of critical items used by the armed forces by 2030, Maj
Saudi Arabia will continue to share military intelligence with the US and will use the opportunity to strengthen ties with America during US president Donald Trumps visit to the kingdom. Saudi Arabia was not concerned about sharing intelligence with the United States, despite a storm over reports that Trump had discussed intelligence with Russia during a White House meeting last week, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir was quoted as saying by Saudi Gazette Friday
Saudi Arabia has launched new military industries company ‘Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced Thursday. SAMI will manufacture products and provide services across four business units: Air Systems, which includes maintenance and repair of fixed-wing aircraft as well as manufacturing and repair of unmanned air vehicles; Land Systems, which includes manufacturing and repair of military vehicles; Weapons & Missiles - including ammunition; and Defense Electronics, which includes radars and sensors as well as communication systems and electronic warfare
Saudi Arabia could insist that spares for imported military hardware should be made within the country marking a major policy shift for one of the biggest arms importers in the world. No contract for the supply of weapons would be concluded if production of spare parts took place in any other country and not in Saudi Arabia, according to the country's Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud
Austal USA, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, Fincantieri Marine and Huntington Ingalls were each awarded approximately $15 million for conceptual design of the Guided-missile Frigate (FFG(X)) project. The US Navy will evaluate the work of the five companies over the next 16 months before a final request for proposal in 2019 and a contract award in 2020, a US DoD contract announcement said
Austal USA is being awarded a Congressional cost cap of $584,200,000 contract for the construction of a littoral combat ship (LCS). The contract also includes options for the construction of additional LCS, class services, and post-delivery availability support, a US DOD release said
The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale estimated $250 million to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for a Navy blanket order training program. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has requested the continuation of a naval blanket order training program inside and outside of Saudi Arabia that includes, but is not limited to English Language training, professional military education, technical training, publications and technical documentation, U
Saudi Arabia has expressed its intent to procure more than $28 billion worth of Lockheed Martin integrated air and missile defense, combat ship, tactical aircraft, rotary wing technologies and programs. Letters of Offer and Acceptance and a Memorandum of Intent covering government-to-government sales of Lockheed Martin programs to include integrated air and missile defense systems, multi-mission surface combatant ships, radar systems, surveillance systems, tactical aircraft and rotary wing programs
Yemens force has shot down an F15 fighter jet that was taking part in the bombing campaign of Saudi-led coalition. Yemens Arabic-language al-Masirah television network quoted a local military official as saying that the Air Defense Force in the Yemeni army are backed by allied fighters from Popular Committees, shot down an F15 warplane of the Saudi-led aggression
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