Hours Into Middle East Trip, Trump Announces Largest Defense Sales Deal In U.S. History

The United States and Saudi Arabia signed the largest defense sales deal in history, the White House announced on Tuesday just hours into President Donald Trump’s 4-day Middle East tour.

The nearly $142 billion deal will provide Saudi Arabia with state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen American defense firms.

“Underscoring our commitment to strengthening our defense and security partnership, the United States and Saudi Arabia signed the largest defense sales agreement in history—nearly $142 billion,” the White House said.

The deal is part of Saudi Arabia’s larger $600 billion investment commitment for the United States that was also announced on Tuesday.

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According to the White House, the defense sales will fall into five categories: air force advancement and space capabilities; air and missile defense; maritime and coastal security; border security and land forces modernization; and information and communication systems upgrades.

The package will also include “extensive training and support to build the capacity of the Saudi armed forces, including enhancement of Saudi service academies and military medical services.”

“This deal represents a significant investment in Saudi Arabia’s defense and regional security, built on American systems and training,” The White House added.

The deal comes as the United States doubles down on its support for Saudi Arabia while seeking a deal to prevent Iran — Riyadh’s long-time regional adversary — from obtaining nuclear weapons.

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Trump is also scheduled to visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during his trip, the second foreign trip of his term.

During his first term, Trump built strong ties with several Gulf states, which led to the signing of the Abraham Accords between the UAE, Israel, and Bahrain. Trump has expressed interest in expanding the agreement to include Saudi Arabia, but the ongoing war in Israel has complicated those efforts.

Saudi Arabia was the first country Trump visited during his first term in 2017, where a viral image was captured of him touching an orb alongside Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the opening of the Global Centre for Combating Extremist Ideology.