WASHINGTON: American President Barack Obama's administration will soon notify Congress of plans to offer advanced military aircraft to Saudi Arabia in a massive deal worth up to 60 billion dollars, congressional sources said Monday.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the transaction has not yet been formally announced, said the package would include 84 new Boeing Co F-15 fighter jets and upgrades to another 70 of them.
It would also include 72 Black Hawk helicopters built by Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp.
The official also confirmed a Wall Street Journal report about the deal but warned that key U.S. lawmakers would block the move.
"You can fully expect that a hold will be placed on this deal," thought to be the largest ever arms sale of its kind, said a senior congressional source.
"There is serious concern about some sensitive material which is expected to be included in the deal," said another source, who told AFP that Obama aides would brief congressional staff on the deal on Monday.
Earlier on Monday, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan said he expected Congress would receive official notification of the long-anticipated Saudi deal within the next week or so.
Lapan declined to comment on details, however, saying Congress needed to be notified first.
The senior defense official said the U.S.-Saudi arms deal also included 70 of Boeing's Apache helicopters and 36 Little Birds.
The United States and Saudi Arabia were also discussing a package for the kingdom's navy, potentially worth $30 billion, but the timing of that deal was unclear and would not be included in the upcoming congressional notification, the official said.
Upon congressional notification, lawmakers get 30 days to object to the deal. But notifications are usually not sent unless lawmakers have already broadly agreed to the sale.
Saudi Arabia was the biggest buyer of U.S. weapons during a four-year span of 2005 through 2008, with $11.2 billion in deals, according to the U.S. Congressional Research Service.
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