4 Littoral Combat Ship, 115 Abrams, Patriot PAC-3, 48 Chinook, 150 Blackhawk.. y así

Here's what the Saudi military is buying from the US
Harold C. Hutchison, We Are The Mighty

While in Saudi Arabia, President Donald Trump signed a deal that will provide Saudi Arabia over $110 billion in weapons, marking what is the largest weapons deal in American history.

According to a report by ynetnews.com, the package includes four frigates based on the Littoral Combat Ship, 115 M1A2S Abrams tanks, the MIM-104F Patriot PAC-3 missile system, the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, 48 CH-47 Chinook helicopters, 150 Blackhawk helicopters, and a number of other systems.

The frigates are slated to replace the four Al-Madinah-class frigates that Saudi Arabia acquired from France in the 1980s. One of these frigates was damaged by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen this past January.

Bloomberg News reports that the deal was originally for two ships based on USS Freedom (LCS 1), which is currently in service with the United States Navy, but was increased to four, and there is an option for four more vessels. This is the first export order for the LCS hull.

The Lockheed Martin website notes that this ship adds remotely-operated 20mm cannon, the RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missile, long-range surface-to-surface missiles, and the AN/SLQ-25 “Nixie,” a decoy intended to draw torpedoes away from a ship.

A separate deal could include up to 16,000 kits for the Paveway series of laser-guided bombs. These weapons are used on Saudi jets, including the F-15S Strike Eagle, the Tornado IDS, and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Many of the weapons deals had been initiated during the Obama Administration, but had beenplaced on hold due to concerns about civilian casualties in the Yemeni Civil War. The Saudi Arabian military has been launching strikes against the Houthi rebels to back the Yemeni government.