US to sell $8.6 billion worth of weapons to Middle East allies

WASHINGTON, May 2. /TASS/. The US State Department has approved the sale of over $8.6 billion worth of arms to its allies in the Middle East. It said on its website that it had approved the sale of 10,000 missiles equipped with APKWS (Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System) laser guidance kits and related equipment worth $992.4 million to Israel. A similar deal was approved for Qatar, which was authorized to buy $4.01 billion worth of missiles for the Patriot air defense systems. The State Department also approved selling Qatar the IBCS (Integrated Battle Command System) air and missile defense systems and related logistics for $2.5 billion. The UAE will buy $147.6 million worth of 1,500 APKWS kits. The statement says the deals are in the national interest and will not change the balance of power in the region. The State Department said that the arms sales will not hurt the combat readiness of the American armed forces.