The US Department of Defense (the Pentagon) announced granting the American Boeing Company two contracts worth more than two billion dollars to supply more than a thousand air-to-surface missiles and anti-ship missiles to Saudi Arabia.
A statement issued by the Pentagon said on Wednesday that the first contract, with a value of 1.97 billion dollars, is dedicated to the modernization and development of the Salam-Air cruise missile, and the delivery of 650 new missiles "to support the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
The Slam-ER is air-to-surface missile guided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) and has a range of approximately 290 km. That contract is scheduled to be completed by December 2028.
The Pentagon announced another contract worth more than $ 650 million to export 467 new "Harpoon Block 2" anti-ship missiles, including 400 to Saudi Arabia, and the rest to other countries.
Boeing said in a separate statement that the two new contracts guarantee the continuation of the "Harpoon" program until 2026, and the re-launch of the Salam-ER production line.
A week ago, the US administration confirmed press reports that Washington was in the process of withdrawing two Patriot missile batteries from Saudi Arabia that they had sent in the aftermath of the attack on Saudi oil installations last year, in addition to US combat aircraft and military personnel.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed the reports, but said that this did not indicate a decline in US support for Saudi Arabia, nor was it an attempt to pressure Riyadh on oil issues.
These developments came within a delicate stage in the relations between Washington and Riyadh, where the atmosphere was strained by the Saudi-Russian war in the world oil markets, which was one of the reasons for the price collapse and severely damaged American oil companies.