US to offer Saudi Arabia $100bn weapons deal as Trump visit planned: Report

The deal could be announced during US President Donald Trump’s planned trip to the Middle East next month.

The United States is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth more than $100bn, the Reuters news agency reports, citing six sources familiar with the matter.

The deal is reportedly in the works in advance of a planned trip by US President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next month, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Top defence contractors such as Lockheed Martin, RTX Corp, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Atomics are reported to be involved in the supply of advanced weapons systems, according to Reuters, and several executives from the companies are expected to join Trump’s delegation for the visit.

The sources cited by Reuters say the contractor could see Riyadh supplied with a range of weapons including C-130 transport aircraft, missiles and radar systems.

It is unlikely, however, that Saudi Arabia will gain access to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet. Only a select number of countries can buy F-35s from the US, such as NATO allies, Japan, South Korea and Australia.

Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, tried unsuccessfully to sign a new defence pact with Saudi Arabia with the broader aim of normalising relations with Israel. Biden’s pact also called for Riyadh to restrict Chinese investment and halt arms purchases from Beijing, but Reuters said it could not establish whether Trump’s proposed deal would call for similar restrictions.

Neither the White House nor Saudi officials immediately responded to the request for comment, but a US defence official told Reuters that “security cooperation remains an important component” of the US-Saudi relationship. None of the defence contractors named by Reuters replied to queries.

While the US has long supplied Saudi Arabia with weapons, sales dropped off in 2018 following the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. In 2021, the US Congress banned the sale of offensive weapons to Saudi Arabia in the wake of the murder and Riyadh’s involvement in the war in Yemen.