U.S. forges $60B deal with Saudi Arabia

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- 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.

The deal will include 72 Black Hawk helicopters built by Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp., plus 70 of Boeing's Apache attack helicopters and 36 of its AH-6M Little Birds, while power for aircraft and helicopters will be provided by General Electric Co. F-110 and T700 engines.

Delivery of the helicopters to oil-rich Saudi Arabia is set to be spread over 15-20 years.

"Our six-decade-long security relationship with Saudi Arabia is a primary security pillar in the region," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote in a Nov. 16 letter to Congress. "This package continues that tradition."

Some critics though are questioning the deal as the administration appear to avoid a more probing congressional review as it notified Congress of the deal last month, just as members were heading home to take part in the November elections.

"Hiding this in a recess announcement is a sign of how unpopular it is," said U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y. "It's bad policy that now is further tainted by shameful process."

Weiner had tabled a resolution to try to block the deal and was among those who "objected to the way the administration approached the required congressional review," ABC News reported.

It is understood that the defense deal also includes thousands of laser-guided smart bombs, including Joint Direct Attack Munitions, as well as Hellfire and Sidewinder missiles.

The United States and Saud Arabia have long enjoyed a strategic alliance but in recent years ties have been strained over Arab-Israeli diplomacy.

The United States has sold up to $37 billion in arms to Persian Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait from 2005 to 2009.