US State Department approves $650m potential missile deal for Saudi Arabia

The AIM-120C air-to-air missiles are capable of all-weather day-and-night operations. (File/US Air Force)

• The air-to-air missile sale comes after ‘an increase in cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia over the past year’

WASHINGTON: The US State Department has approved the potential sale of 280 AIM-120C air-to-air missiles in a deal valued at up to $650 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
The sale is the first major foreign military sale to Saudi Arabia by the Biden administration since taking office and adopting a policy of selling only defensive weapons to the Gulf ally.
The State Department approved the proposed sale on Oct. 26, a State Department spokesman said, adding that the air-to-air missile sale comes after “an increase in cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia over the past year.”