US Approves $1.96 Billion Arms Sale to Saudi Arabia to Bolster Air Defenses Against Iran and Houthi Threats
The US State Department has approved a roughly $1.96 billion weapons sale to Saudi Arabia aimed at strengthening its air defense capabilities. The package includes up to 20,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) and associated warheads, with BAE Systems of Nashua, New Jersey, named as the primary contractor. The approval comes amid rising tensions following the collapse of a US-Iran ceasefire and a Houthi missile attack on Saudi Arabia on July 13.
Highlights
- The US State Department approved a $1.96 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia comprising up to 20,000 APKWS guided rockets, with BAE Systems named as the primary contractor.
- Houthi forces fired missiles at Saudi Arabia on July 13, breaking a four-year ceasefire and opening a potential new front in the broader US-Iran conflict.
- Iran's IRGC claimed to have destroyed a Patriot air defense battery in Kuwait that had intercepted 97 incoming munitions — the highest intercept count of any GCC air defense system during the conflict.
- An AN/FPS-117 radar at Kuwait's Ahmad Al-Jaber Air Base, providing 470 km early-warning coverage into Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, was also claimed destroyed on July 13.
- Iran is systematically degrading Saudi Arabia's multi-layered air defense network by targeting neighboring Gulf states' sensors and interceptors, without striking Saudi territory directly.
The US State Department has approved the sale of approximately $1.96 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia to enhance the kingdom's air defense capabilities.
In a statement, the State Department said: "This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security capabilities of a major non-NATO ally that is an important force for political stability and economic progress in the Persian Gulf region."
The package includes up to 20,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) and associated warheads. According to the US Navy's official website, APKWS is "a low-cost way to defeat targets in close combat while limiting collateral damage." The State Department named BAE Systems, based in Nashua, New Jersey, as the primary contractor.
The statement added: "This proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia's capability to meet current and future threats by improving its indigenous defense, and by increasing interoperability with US forces and other regional and NATO allies."
"This proposed sale will not have any negative impact on US defense readiness."
Iran Conflict Background
Since a fragile US-Iran ceasefire collapsed on July 9, Iran has struck US military bases in at least six Gulf states — Bahrain, Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman.
Tehran's targeting choices have drawn significant attention. Iran attacked US bases even in Oman — one of Iran's closest partners in the Gulf and a long-standing host for US-Iran peace talks — yet conspicuously avoided striking Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have maintained a deep historical and ideological rivalry since Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iran is widely regarded as the leading power of Shia Islam, while Saudi Arabia — custodian of Islam's two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina — is seen as the natural leader of Sunni Muslims.
The two countries also fought a nearly decade-long proxy war in Yemen from 2015 to 2022.
During the first phase of the current conflict (March–April), Iran struck US military bases on Saudi soil, including Prince Sultan Air Base, as well as the Ras Tanura refinery and the East-West oil pipeline. However, in the final week of hostilities, Saudi Arabia appeared to vanish from Iran's target list — prompting speculation that Riyadh may have reached a quiet understanding with Tehran.
Analysts have noted that Saudi Arabia may be quietly shifting from its traditionally pro-US stance toward a more neutral position, pointing to Saudi officials' attendance at the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Some analysts suggest Pakistan may have played a role in Iran's decision to spare Saudi Arabia. Pakistan hosted US-Iran peace talks and has signed a Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) with Riyadh modeled on NATO's Article 5 — whereby an attack on one party is considered an attack on all members.
Pakistan reportedly warned Tehran of its mutual defense pact with Saudi Arabia. Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stated at a press conference in Islamabad: "I have informed the Iranian side of our defense agreement. The Iranian side indicated that Saudi Arabia must ensure its territory is not used against Iran."
However, analysts who focus on this dynamic may be overlooking a key element of Iran's strategy: Tehran does not need to strike Saudi Arabia directly to exert pressure on it. Iran has long leveraged proxy forces — most notably Hezbollah against Israel and the Houthi movement in Yemen — to project influence, pressure adversaries, and maintain plausible deniability.
Houthi Attack on Saudi Arabia
On July 13, the Houthis fired missiles at Saudi Arabia, accusing Riyadh of bombing a Houthi-controlled airport — breaking a four-year ceasefire between the two sides.
The move suggests Iran may have opened a new front in the conflict.
Saudi Arabia fought a seven-year war against the Houthis in Yemen from 2015 to 2022. Riyadh views the Houthis' growing influence in Yemen as an existential security threat — the two countries share a 1,307-kilometer border.
The Houthis are a Shia militia backed, armed, and financed by Iran. Their rise in Yemen effectively extends Iranian influence into Saudi Arabia's backyard.
Saudi Arabia treated this as a direct threat to its regional security and influence, forming a nine-nation Arab coalition to launch "Operation Decisive Storm" against the Houthis.
During that period of direct conflict, the Houthis frequently launched drone and missile strikes on Saudi territory, including against Saudi Aramco oil facilities.
After seven years of grinding warfare, Riyadh concluded it could not defeat the Houthis militarily and signed a ceasefire with them in 2022. The following year, in March 2023, Chinese-brokered Saudi-Iranian rapprochement further cemented the truce between Riyadh and the Houthis.
That ceasefire has now effectively collapsed, with the Houthis firing missiles at Saudi Arabia again as of June 13.
The Houthis also pose a significant economic threat to Saudi Arabia. Iran used the Strait of Hormuz as a bargaining chip during the conflict, signaling that no Gulf state could export oil if war broke out with Iran. While Saudi Arabia has an alternative export route — via the East-West pipeline through the Red Sea — the Houthis could potentially blockade the Bab-el-Mandeb strait (as they did in 2024), severing Red Sea commercial shipping and choking off Saudi oil exports.
How Iran Is Eroding Saudi Defenses Without Striking Saudi Arabia Directly
On July 13, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed to have "completely destroyed" a Patriot air defense missile system at Kuwait's Ali Al-Salem Air Base and an AN/FPS-117 strategic radar at Ahmad Al-Jaber Air Base.
According to Saudi Royal, a London-based Saudi defense and geopolitical news outlet, the Patriot system at Ali Al-Salem had intercepted 97 incoming munitions since the war began — more than any other air defense system in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The AN/FPS-117 radar at Ahmad Al-Jaber provided long-range early-warning detection out to 470 kilometers, with coverage extending deep into Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province and across the northern approach corridors toward Dhahran and Aramco's Ras Tanura facilities.
As one analysis noted: "The FPS-117 is a long-range 3D air surveillance radar with a 470 km coverage radius. Positioned at approximately 29.3°N in southern Kuwait, its detection arc crosses the border into northern Saudi Arabia's corridors, providing early warning for Dhahran, Jubail, and the Eastern Province coastline's industrial zones. Its destruction means the loss not only of Kuwaiti situational awareness, but of a detection node that Saudi Arabia relied upon without directly operating."
Although these radars are physically located in Kuwait, their coverage also protects Saudi Arabia. During the conflict, air defense systems linked to these radars have repeatedly intercepted aerial threats approaching Saudi airspace.
Every radar, air defense battery, or missile launcher destroyed in Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, and Qatar degrades Saudi Arabia's layered early-warning architecture. Moreover, as these Gulf neighbors rapidly deplete their interceptor inventories, Saudi Arabia is left increasingly exposed — because those interceptors would otherwise have neutralized aerial threats transiting through neighboring airspace toward the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province air defense network is built on a multi-layered architecture in which neighboring countries' sensors and interceptors form the critical outer defensive ring.
Even without directly attacking Saudi Arabia, Iran is systematically dismantling the kingdom's defenses by targeting its neighbors' air defense systems — demonstrating a masterful application of the strategic art of targeting, weakening, and neutralizing a regional adversary without direct engagement.
Author Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media, with previous roles at Press Trust of India (PTI), Times Now, Zee News, The Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master's degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
This article was originally published in the EURASIAN TIMES.
原文來源： 查看原文
FAQ
Newsletter
Subscribe to our Low-Altitude Industry Newsletter
Daily curated news on low-altitude economy and drone industry, delivered to your inbox.
Reviewed and published by the LAETimes editorial desk ·
