US Senate approves $650 million sale of missiles to Saudi Arabia

SANAA, Dec. 08 (YPA) – The US Senate on Tuesday rejected a bill banning the sale of 280 advanced medium-range “air-to-air” missiles to Saudi Arabia.

62 deputies voted in favor of the resolution, 25 against the deal approved by the US State Department, which includes 280 AIM-120C-7/C-8 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles (AMRAAM) and 596 LAU launchers. 128), as well as containers, support equipment, spare parts, and engineering and technical support provided by the US government and contractors.

Last November 19, three members of the Senate announced that a group of members of the Senate opposes the first major arms deal to Saudi Arabia during the Biden administration, against the background of Riyadh’s involvement in the Yemeni conflict.

The White House announced that it strongly opposes a Senate resolution blocking the proposed sale of medium-range air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia.

The White House said in a statement that it “strongly opposes a Senate resolution that would block the proposed sale of 280 medium-range air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia.”

The White House Office of Budget Management said in a statement that the Senate’s passage of the resolution “would undermine President Joe Biden’s commitment to helping support our partner’s defenses at a time of increasing missile and drone attacks on civilians in Saudi Arabia.”

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