US to move forward with $23B arms sale to UAE
The $23.4 billion arms package includes F-35s, armed drones and other equipment.
The US administration has notified Congress that it is moving ahead with a multibillion-dollar arms package to the United Arab Emirates that was put on hold in January, the State Department confirmed.
A spokesperson for the State Department told Reuters the US government would proceed with the sale “even as we continue reviewing details and consulting with Emirati officials.”
The administration announced in January that it was reviewing pending arms sales worth billions of dollars, including deals with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, that were pushed through by the Donald Trump administration in its final months.
According to the Emirati Embassy, the $23.4 billion sale, which was finalized with the Trump administration a day before President Joe Biden’s inauguration, includes 50 F-35 fighter jets, 18 armament-ready MQ-9B drones and a package of precision munitions. The transfer would make the UAE the first Arab country to obtain Lockheed Martin’s F-35, the world's most advanced fighter aircraft.
