Perilous
Times
US seals $3.48 Billion, missiles, technology sale to United
Arab Emirates
By Will Lester
AP
December 31, 2011 7:19PM
THE United States has reached a deal to sell $US3.48 billion worth
of missiles and related technology to the United Arab Emirates, a
close Mideast ally, as part of a massive buildup of defense
technology among friendly Mideast nations near Iran.
Pentagon spokesman George Little announced the Christmas Day sale
on Friday night.
He noted that the U.S. and U.A.E. have a strong defense
relationship and are both interested in "a secure and stable"
Persian Gulf region.
The deal includes 96 missiles, along with supporting technology
and training support that Little says will bolster the nation's
missile defense capacity.
The deal includes a contract with Lockheed Martin to produce the
highly sophisticated Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or
THAAD, weapon system for the U.A.E.
Tom McGrath, vice president and program manager for Lockheed
Martin's THAAD program in Dallas, said in a statement it was the
first foreign military sale of the THAAD system.
THAAD interceptors are produced at Lockheed Martin's Pike County
Facility in Troy, Ala. The launchers and fire control units are
produced at the company's Camden, Ark., facility.
Wary of Iran, the U.S. has been building up missile defenses of
its allies, including a $1.7 billion deal to upgrade Saudi
Arabia's Patriot missiles and the sale of 209 Patriot missiles to
Kuwait, valued at about $900 million.
On Thursday, the Obama administration announced the sale of $30
billion worth of F-15SA fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.
Under the fighter jet agreement, the U.S. will send Saudi Arabia
84 new fighter jets and upgrades for 70 more. Production of the
aircraft, which will be manufactured by Boeing Co., will support
50,000 jobs and have a $3.5 billion annual economic impact in the
U.S.
All the sales are part of a larger U.S. effort to realign its
defense policies in the Persian Gulf to keep Iran in check.
The announcement came as U.S. officials weighed a fresh threat
from Tehran, which warned this week it could disrupt traffic
through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital Persian Gulf oil transport
route, if Washington levies new sanctions targeting Iran's crude
exports.