US pushing $60 billion Saudi arms deal

The US government is charging ahead with a plan to sell $60 billion worth of advanced aircraft and other sophisticated weapon systems to Saudi Arabia, in what is thought to be the largest US arms deal ever. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the administration of Barack Obama, the US president, was also in talks with the Saudis about naval and missile-defense upgrades that could be worth tens of billions of dollars more. Under the deal, the US is also to expand Saudi Arabia's ballistic-missile defenses "to reduce the threat from Iranian rockets", US officials were reported to have said. They also said that it was unclear how much that package would be worth, but it could be similar to one in the United Arab Emirates. The Obama administration sees the sale as part of a broader policy aimed at supporting "Arab allies against Iran," and is expected to notify the US congress about these plans in the upcoming weeks, the report said. The Obama administration plans to notify Congress that it will authorize the Saudis to buy as many as 84 new F-15 fighters, upgrade 70 more, and purchase three types of helicopters - 70 Apaches, 72 Black Hawks and 36 Little Birds - the report noted, citing unnamed officials.