US OKs missile guidance kits, Patriot repairs, Javelins to Middle East partners

U.S. forces participate in a live fire involving Patriot missile launches during exercise Sky Shield at the Udari Range Complex, Kuwait, Dec. 9, 2025. (U.S. Central Command Public Affairs via DVIDS)

WASHINGTON — The US State Department has announced that it has approved a trio of potential foreign military sales to the allies in the Middle East, including $1 billion-worth of missile guidance kits for the United Arab Emirates and hundreds of millions in repairs to Patriot systems in Kuwait.

In one of three separate releases on Friday, the State Department said the possible $1 billion deal with the UAE would provide the Gulf nation with up to 10,000 Advanced Precision Kill System-II Guidance Sections — air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles — as well as several other “non-major defense equipment items” related to missiles. The UAE previously requested up to 1,500 APKWS systems in May.

The announcement does not mention Iran, but comes as the US and its allies are racing to deploy relatively low-cost ways to take out drones and other incoming threats since the outbreak of hostilities in the region in February. The notification says the sale would help the Emirates maintain a “strong and ready self-defense capability and improv[e] interoperability with US forces.”

Meanwhile, a separate notice from the State Department the same day said that the Kuwaiti government has “requested to buy repair and return services for Patriot missiles” and associated equipment and services for $400 million.

Kuwait, which has used the Patriot system since the 1990s [ PDF ], has also been targeted by Iran in recent months, including a deadly strike that took the lives of six American soldiers in early March.

That notice also does not mention Iran but says the repairs will “improve Kuwait’s capability to meet current and future threats and provide greater security for its critical oil and natural gas infrastructure.”

Elsewhere, the State Department greenlit a request from Egypt for $832 million for up to 2,020 Javelin missiles, 200 launch units and other associated equipment. That proposed sale “will support U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by helping to improve the security of a friendly country that continues to be an important force for political stability and economic growth in the Middle East,” the State Department said.

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Like all foreign military sales, for each recent announcement the dollar figures and unit numbers can change as negotiations progress, and US lawmakers can always step in to attempt to block or alter the sales.

2025年12月9日，美军在科威特乌达里靶场参加“天空之盾”演习，进行“爱国者”导弹实弹射击。（美国中央司令部公​​共事务办公室通过DVIDS提供）

华盛顿——美国国务院宣布，已批准向中东盟友进行三项潜在的对外军售，其中包括向阿拉伯联合酋长国提供价值 10 亿美元的导弹制导组件，以及向科威特提供价值数亿美元的爱国者导弹系统维修服务。

美国国务院周五发布的三份独立声明之一称，与阿联酋可能达成的价值10亿美元的军售协议，将向这个海湾国家提供多达1万套先进精确杀伤系统-II（APKWS-II）制导组件——包括空空导弹和空地导弹——以及其他一些与导弹相关的“非主要国防装备”。阿联酋此前曾在5月份提出采购多达1500套APKWS系统的请求。

该公告并未提及伊朗，但正值美国及其盟友竞相部署成本相对较低的手段来应对无人机和其他来袭威胁之际，自今年2月该地区爆发敌对行动以来，双方一直在寻求解决方案。公告称，此次军售将有助于阿联酋维持“强大且随时可用的自卫能力，并提高与美军的协同作战能力”。

与此同时，美国国务院当天发布的另一份通知称，科威特政府“请求购买价值 4 亿美元的爱国者导弹及其相关设备和服务的维修和返还服务”。

科威特自 20 世纪 90 年代以来一直使用爱国者导弹系统 [ PDF ]，近几个月来也一直是伊朗的攻击目标，其中包括 3 月初造成 6 名美国士兵丧生的致命袭击。

该通知也没有提及伊朗，但表示维修工作将“提高科威特应对当前和未来威胁的能力，并为其关键的石油和天然气基础设施提供更大的安全保障”。

此外，美国国务院批准了埃及提出的价值8.32亿美元的军售请求，用于购买至多2020枚“标枪”导弹、200套发射装置及其他相关设备。国务院表示，这项拟议的军售“将有助于提升一个友好国家的安全，从而支持美国的外交政策和国家安全目标。埃及一直是中东地区政治稳定和经济增长的重要力量。”

对“爱国者”防空导弹系统的支持是工业基础的一个案例研究。

生产规模、全球可持续性和下一代技术正变得密不可分。

与所有对外军售一样，最近宣布的每笔军售金额和数量都可能随着谈判的进行而发生变化，而且美国立法者随时可以介入，试图阻止或改变军售。