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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will acquire more than 2,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System as part of a US$100 million foreign military sale.
The Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) II design conversion has previously been used to upgrade unguided Hydra 2.75-inch rocket munitions with a laser guidance kit to allow precision-kill capability.
US Congress was notified of the possible US foreign military sale by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on 20 March.
The sale, approved by the US State Department, includes 2,000 APKWS as well as APKWS spare parts, support equipment, missile software, training, US government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region,” DSCA said in a statement published on 20 March.
“The proposed sale will improve the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s capability to meet current and future threats and give it the ability to precisely engage targets with much less risk of collateral damage than other guided missile systems. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.
“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. There will be no adverse impact on US defence readiness as a result of this proposed sale.”
BAE Systems is expected to be the principal contractor and implementation of the proposed sale would require the assignment of up to two additional US government and up to two contractor representatives annually to Saudi Arabia for one week for program technical support and management oversight.
