The US State Department has approved the sale of more than $2 billion worth of arms and equipment to other countries. In particular, the United States can sell Patriot missiles to the Netherlands, cruise missiles to Australia, and oceanographic surveillance equipment to the United Arab Emirates.
This was reported by Reuters with reference to the Pentagon.
According to journalists, the package for the Netherlands will contain 96 Patriot ballistic missiles and equipment for them. If the deal goes through, Raytheon Technologies will be its prime contractor. The cost may reach $1.2 billion.
For Australia, it is possible to purchase 80 standoff missiles of the "air-to-ground" class or cruise missiles of increased range. These could be Lockheed Martin Corp missiles that can be launched from F/A-18 Super Hornets and F-35s. This deal will cost $235 million.
Also, the United States can sell to the United Arab Emirates a system of equipment for oceanographic observation with a total cost of $206 million dollars. The main contractor of the system is Lockheed Martin.
The State Department also authorized the sale of various Raytheon and Lockheed munitions to Kuwait, including air-to-air missiles. The amount of the deal can reach $397 million.
Reuters journalists note that despite the approval of the State Department, this does not yet indicate the signing of contracts or the completion of negotiations.