US $2bn sale of missiles to Emirates approved

The US State Department approved a $2 billion sale of missiles to the United Arab Emirates, the Pentagon said yesterday.

The sale would include 60 Patriot PAC-3 missiles made by Lockheed Martin Corp and 100 GEM-T missiles made by Raytheon Co, the Pentagon said in a statement.

The announcement comes ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned visit to the Gulf region later this month when he seeks to sell $30 billion worth of US arms to US allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council, sources have said.

According to the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai, sources involved in preparing for Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, said he “intends to offer deals worth between $10 and $15 billion with Saudi Arabia, and others between $15-20 billion with Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. “