Posted on 11/17/2015 7:03:32 PM PST by Lorianne
The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of $1.29 billion in smart bombs to Saudi Arabia to help replenish supplies used in its battle against insurgents in Yemen and air strikes against Islamic State in Syria, the Pentagon said on Monday.
The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which facilitates foreign arms sales, notified lawmakers on Friday that the sales had been approved, it said in a statement.
The lawmakers now have 30 days to block the sale, although such action is rare since deals are carefully vetted before any formal notification.
The sales reflect President Barack Obama's pledge to bolster U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia and other Sunni allies in the Gulf Cooperation Council after his administration brokered a nuclear deal with their Shiite rival Iran.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
OA. Orbital ATK?
Have they resupplied Jordan, who wanted to bomb ISIS? I don’t think so.
But this shipment for the Saudis, is enough to conduct a couple of weeks of Desert Shield-like massive air campaign:
22,000 bombs, 5,000 JDAM kits to upgrade dumb bombs to precision strike weapons, and 1,000 laser-designated Paveway bombs.
Maybe they plan on dropping it on Yemen, or replenishing stocks after several months of dropping it on Yemen - or maybe they are planning another large operation in a couple of months.
The Turks were recently approved for a bunch of JDAMs last week as well. Smells fishy to me. Maybe they are building up to jump Assad in a few months, or fear an Iranian attack.
Smart Bomb?
That’s microaggression.
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