| More details on the Saoodi arms deal. EFL. |
The Kingdom confirmed on Friday that it has signed the deal to purchase 84 F-15SA fighter jets. A Defense Ministry spokesman said the deal includes 70 Apache attack helicopters, 72 Black Hawk helicopters, 36 AH-6i helicopters and 12 MD-530F helicopters as well as upgrading of 70 existing F15 jets.
“The agreement also includes
The US said it is worth $29.4 billion and would support more than 50,000 US jobs and give the American economy a $3.5 billion annual boost.
First deliveries of the aircraft will be made in early 2015, while the modernization of existing planes will start in 2014 and the first payments for the deal are expected in the coming weeks and months. Administration officials described the sale of advanced F-15s as designed to bolster overall Saudi defenses in an uncertain region. “In the Middle East right now, there's a number of threats," said Andrew Shapiro, assistant US secretary of state for political-military affairs.
The Obama administration in October 2010 notified Congress of the proposed F-15 sale as part of a potential package valued at up to $60 billion over 10 to 15 years, including the 84 advanced Boeing F-15SA fighters with cutting-edge Raytheon Co radar equipment and digital electronic warfare systems for which BAE Systems Plc is the key supplier.
The head of Boeing's military business, Dennis Muilenburg, told Reuters the deliveries would take about five years to complete, extending the F-15 production line toward the end of this decade.
Senior Pentagon official James Miller said the new F-15s "will be the most capable and versatile aircraft in the Royal Saudi Fighter inventory." He added: "The F-15SA will have the latest generation of computing power, radar technology, infrared sensors and electronic warfare systems."