US approves $4.2b arms sales to Kuwait

WASHINGTON, Dec 30: The US State Department has approved the potential sale to Kuwait of Apache helicopters and spare parts for the Patriot missile system in two separate deals that could have a value of $4.2 billion, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.
Kuwait's government had asked to buy eight AH-64E Apache Longbow Attack Helicopters and the upgrade of 16 of their current AH-64D Apache Longbow Attack Helicopters to the AH-64E configuration, the Pentagon said.
If the deal comes to fruition it could have a value of $4 billion for the helicopters and $200 million towards spare parts and training for their upgraded Patriot missile defense systems, the Pentagon said in a statement.
The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of the possible sale on Tuesday. Despite the approval, the notification does not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded.    -REUTERS