US forges $60 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia

Source United Press International

The U.S. administration has quietly forged ahead with a massive arms sale to Saudi Arabia despite lawmakers' worries of its affect on relations with Israel. The U.S. Department of Defense presented the sale in late October, requiring 30 days for Congress to either block or change terms of the $60 billion transaction. The sale aims to bolster Saudi Arabia's defenses from any prospect of an attack from Iran. The massive arms deal marks the single largest sale of weapons to a foreign nation in the history of the United States and supplies the Saudi Arabian kingdom with a fully modernized and powerful new air force. In all, the deal calls for the sale of 84 new F-15s and upgrades to Saudi Arabia existing fleet of 70 F-15s. The F-15 is manufactured by McDonnell Douglas.