Biden lured the Arab dictatorship with more advanced weapons – but on the condition that the sheikhs in Riyadh tied bonds to the former archenemy Israel and stopped making large arms deals with China.
It is unclear whether the "Trump administration's proposal contains similar requirements", writes news agency Reuters now, based on sources close to the White House.
Trump is expected to announce the business plans when he goes on a tour to Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia in mid-May. According to sources, he will offer both military aircraft such as C-130 and drones as well as radar systems, worth a total of "a good bit over 100 billion dollars", equivalent to around one billion kronor.
The weapons come from defense giants such as Lockheed Martin, RTX (formerly Raytheon), Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and General Atomics. They are major employers in their respective states in the USA.
The question is which products Trump intends to offer. Saudi Arabia has reportedly long wanted to have F-35, the super-advanced fighter jet from Lockheed Martin, which costs several billion kronor per unit.
On the other hand, the USA has an agreement with Israel, called Qualitative Military Edge (QME), which stipulates that the Jewish state should always have better weapons than the Arab countries around it. Israel has had F-35 for nine years.
Reuters' sources say they do not believe Saudi Arabia will be offered F-35 at present. But on the other hand, much of Lockheed Martin's fighter jet production is now intended for European countries – and they have begun to doubt whether they really want to continue with the purchases, in light of Trump's view on defense cooperation.
