The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) June 13 notified Congress that Saudi Arabia would spend nearly $1 billion in Foreign Military Sales for Light Armored Vehicles (LAVs) for its armed forces and separately for its national guard, as well as CBU-105D/B Sensor Fuzed Weapons.
The first FMS request was for a potential $263 million for 23 LAV-25mm Light Armored Vehicles (LAV), 14 LAV Personnel Carriers, four LAV Ambulances, three LAV Recovery vehicles, nine LAV Command and Control vehicles and 20 LAV Anti-Tank (TOW) vehicles.
General Dynamics [GD] and Raytheon [RTN] would be the prime contractors for the potential sale, which has no known offset agreements.
The potential sale also would include:155 AN/PVS-7B night vision goggles, M257 smoke grenade launchers, improved thermal sight systems (ITSS) and modified improved TOW acquisition systems (MITAS), defense advanced global positioning system receivers, AN/USQ-159 camouflage net sets, M2A2 aiming circles, compasses, plotting boards and reeling machines. Additional equipment would include sight bore optical sets, telescopes, switchboards, driver vision enhancers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical documentation. Support services would include U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services as well as other logistics support.
This proposed sale would provide a highly mobile, light combat vehicle capability enabling Saudi Arabia to rapidly identify, engage, and defeat perimeter security threats and readily employ counter- and anti-terrorism measures, DSCA said in a statement. The vehicles will enhance the stability and security operations for boundaries and territorial areas encompassing the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia will have no difficulty absorbing these LAVs into its armed forces.
Separately, DSCA notified Congress of a potential $350 million sale to Saudi Arabia of LAVs and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support.
Saudi Arabia has requested a possible sale that would improve the national guard’s ability to effectively conduct security and counter-terrorism operations, and would serve to make a key strategic partner in regional contingency operations more capable of defeating those who would threaten regional stability and less reliant on the deployment of U.S. forces to maintain or restore stability in the Middle East, DSCA said in a statement. Saudi Arabia, which already has Light Armored Vehicles in its inventory, will have no difficulty absorbing these additional vehicles into its armed forces.
General Dynamics has supplied Saudi Arabia with LAVs; the latest contract was for $2.2 billion for 724 LAVs in 2009.
This second June 13 potential sale requests 25 LAV-25 series Light Armored Vehicles, eight LAV Assault Guns, eight LAV Anti-Tank Vehicles, six LAV Mortars, two LAV Recovery Vehicles, 24 LAV Command and Control Vehicles, three LAV Personnel Carriers, three LAV Ammo Carriers, one LAV Engineer Vehicle, and two LAV Ambulances.
Additionally, the potential sale would include AN/VRC 90E and AN/VRC-92E Export Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio Systems (SINCGARS), battery chargers, spare and repair parts, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. government and contractor engineering and technical support services, and other support.
The prime contractors on this request would be General Dynamics Land Systems Canada; ITT [ITT]Aerospace/Communications; Harris Corp. [HRS], and Raytheon.
The third potential FMS would be the possible $355 million sale of 404 CBU-105D/B Sensor Fuzed Weapons and associated equipment, parts, training and logistical support. The sale would include integration test assets, parts, containers, training equipment, documentation and other logistics support.
The prime contractor would be Textron Systems [TXT].
Saudi Arabia intends to use Sensor Fuzed Weapons to modernize its armed forces, DSCA’s statement said. The weapons would also improve its capability to defeat a wide range of defensive threats, to include: strongpoints, bunkers, and dug-in facilities; armored and semi-armored vehicles; personnel; and certain maritime threats.
Additionally, the precision nature and extremely low dud rate of these munitions will reduce fratricide incidents and increase effectiveness. The Royal Saudi Air Force will be able to develop and enhance its standardization and operational capability and its interoperability with the U.S. Air Force, Gulf Cooperation Council member states, and other coalition air forces.
After arming, the CBU-105D/B Sensor Fuzed Weapon will not result in more than one percent unexploded ordnance across the range of intended operational environments, DSCA said. The agreement applicable to the transfer or the CBU-105D/B and the CBU-105 integration test assets will contain an agreement by Saudi Arabia that the cluster munitions and cluster munitions technology will be used only against clearly defined military targets and will not be used where civilians are known to be present or in areas normally inhabited by civilians.