US approves $3 billion sale of air-defense missile system to Kuwait
The US State Department has approved a $3 billion military deal with Kuwait that paves the way for the sale of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missiles System (NASAMS) to the Persian Gulf kingdom, the Pentagon declared.
"The proposed sale will improve Kuwait's capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing the ability to defend itself against regional malign actors and improve interoperability with systems operated by US forces and other [Persian] Gulf countries," the US Defense Department said in a statement cited by Defense News on Friday.
While the estimated cost of the deal for Kuwait comes in at $3 billion, the report adds, the final dollar amount is subject to change until the Pentagon finalizes a contract with Raytheon.
According to the report, the weapon is manufactured as a joint venture between US-based Raytheon Technologies and Norway’s Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace, though the principal contractor on the Kuwait sale is Raytheon.
The State Department’s approval, meanwhile, kicks off the 30-day congressional review period. Congress has advanced legislation in recent months to accelerate the slow-moving delivery of weapons to its customers across the globe.
However, such efforts have so far centered largely on a $14 billion backlog of foreign military sales to Taiwan as Washington actively seeks to contain China’s growing influence in the region by increasing its military presence and weapons sales in the Indo-Pacific region.
The United States itself uses NASAMS to protect the airspace over the White House and the Pentagon. Both Hungary and India have also purchased NASAMS to defend their territories in recent years.
The US Defense Department also announced in July that it would purchase NASAMS for Kiev with $770 million in military aid package from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.
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