US clears $5B in JDAMs for Saudi Arabia, other Middle East deals

U.S. Air Force Airmen 1st Class Adam Davis and Nathan Queen, 169th Maintenance Squadron munitions crew members, install a KMU-572 tailkit on a GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) at the munitions storage area at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, South Carolina, Jan. 14, 2021. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Mackenzie Bacalzo, 169th Fighter Wing, Public Affairs)

WASHINGTON — The US State Department today greenlit several potential arms deals for key Middle East partners Saudi Arabia, Oman and Iraq, totaling about $6.1 billion-worth of equipment.

By far the largest approved sale would be for Riyadh to buy just over 10,000 kits of the extended range Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and associated equipment in a deal valued at $5 billion. The prospective transaction includes a similar number of dumb bombs — split almost evenly between 500 lb. and 2,000 lb. munitions — which when equipped with a JDAM can be used as a precision weapon. JDAMs are supplied by aerospace giant Boeing.

Saudi Arabia’s JDAM stockpiling comes amid heavy aerial bombardment during conflict with Iran, which has depleted inventories of key precision munitions, according to an estimate by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The JDAM is often seen as a cheaper alternative to more exquisite weapons, but Boeing has previously said its extended range variant is limited to a distance of over 45 miles — requiring aircraft carrying the weapon to fly relatively closer to a target.

The State Department today additionally cleared a second potential arms sale for Riyadh covering 60 AGT-1500 tank engines, which are used to power the M1 Abrams. That deal, according to the State Department, is valued at $750 million, and the prime contractor is Honeywell.

Separately, Oman was approved to buy $188 million worth of sustainment services for its fleet of F-16 fighter jets. While Lockheed Martin builds the F-16 and principally runs the aircraft’s sustainment, the State Department notice says that “no principal contractor” is associated with the potential sale, and that “[s]upport will be provided by U.S. Government or contracted vendors based upon requirements as they are determined.”

A mediator in the Iran conflict , Oman has also been the target of President Donald Trump’s ire, including threats by the president to bomb the Gulf sultanate.

Finally, the State Department authorized the possible sale of Bell 412EPX helicopters to Iraq, which the notice says is estimated at $150 million. The primary contractor for that purchase would be Bell-Textron.

That announcement follows a similar sale cleared by the State Department on Monday for Baghdad to buy $800 million worth of helicopters, including the Bell 412EPX and 407M. A spokesperson for the State Department did not immediately respond when asked about the difference between the two notifications.

Each sale announced today, issued in the form of a congressional notification, is not final. Quantities and dollar totals often shift during negotiations. The notifications also technically tee up an opportunity for lawmakers to block each deal within a 30-day period, though such a step would be unlikely.

2021年1月14日，在南卡罗来纳州麦克恩蒂尔联合国民警卫队基地的弹药库，美国空军第169维护中队弹药组成员、一等兵亚当·戴维斯和内森·奎因正在为一枚GBU-38联合直接攻击弹药（JDAM）安装KMU-572尾翼组件。（美国空军国民警卫队，第169战斗机联队公共事务高级空军兵麦肯齐·巴卡尔佐摄）

华盛顿——美国国务院今天批准了几项可能对中东主要伙伴沙特阿拉伯、阿曼和伊拉克进行的武器交易，总价值约 61 亿美元。

迄今为止，获批的最大一笔军售是利雅得将购买超过1万套增程型联合直接攻击弹药（JDAM）及其配套设备，交易价值50亿美元。这笔潜在交易还包括数量相近的非制导炸弹——重量分别为500磅和2000磅——这些炸弹与JDAM弹药配合使用时，可作为精确制导武器。JDAM弹药由航空航天巨头波音公司供应。

据战略与国际研究中心估计，沙特阿拉伯囤积JDAM导弹正值其与伊朗冲突期间遭受猛烈空袭之际，伊朗已消耗了大量关键精确制导武器库存。JDAM通常被视为比更精密武器更便宜的替代品，但波音公司此前曾表示，其增程型JDAM的有效射程限制在45英里以上——这意味着携带该武器的飞机需要相对靠近目标飞行。

美国国务院今天还批准了另一项对利雅得的潜在军售，涉及60台AGT-1500坦克发动机，这些发动机用于为M1艾布拉姆斯主战坦克提供动力。据国务院称，这笔交易价值7.5亿美元，主承包商是霍尼韦尔公司。

此外，阿曼获准购买价值1.88亿美元的F-16战斗机机队维护服务。虽然洛克希德·马丁公司负责F-16的制造和主要维护工作，但美国国务院的通知指出，此次潜在交易“没有主承包商”，并且“相关支持将由美国政府或签约供应商根据确定的需求提供”。

作为伊朗冲突的调解人，阿曼也一直是美国总统唐纳德·特朗普愤怒的目标，包括特朗普总统威胁要轰炸这个海湾苏丹国。

最后，美国国务院批准了可能向伊拉克出售贝尔412EPX直升机的计划，公告称此次交易预计价值1.5亿美元。此次采购的主要承包商将是贝尔-德事隆公司。

此前，美国国务院周一批准了一项类似的军售，巴格达将购买价值8亿美元的直升机，其中包括贝尔412EPX和407M型直升机。当被问及这两项通知有何不同时，国务院发言人尚未作出回应。

今天公布的每项军售协议均以国会通知的形式发布，但这些协议并非最终版本。数量和总金额通常会在谈判过程中发生变化。从技术上讲，这些通知也为议员们提供了在30天内否决每项协议的机会，尽管这种可能性不大。