Political analyst outlines stages of US arms sales process
Dr. Hamoud Al-Ruwais explains that US arms sales require State Department approval before being sent to Congress for review.
Key Takeaways
AIPolitical analyst Dr. Hamoud Al-Ruwais said that the process of selling US weapons involves several stages, beginning with approval from the State Department, which is then forwarded to Congress.
Speaking to Al-Ekhbariya channel, he added that Congress classifies countries into two categories: NATO members, for whom the review period is 15 days, and non-NATO countries, where the approval process takes 30 days.
Al-Ruwais noted that this stage includes reviewing the offer and acceptance requirements, during which Saudi Arabia's needs from the deal are assessed. The next phase involves Saudi-US discussions to review the technical specifications requested by Saudi Arabia. If approved, the deal moves to defense manufacturers, where negotiations cover contracts, logistics, supply lines, and training for technicians, pilots, and operators.
He added that the subsequent stage is production and delivery, which includes building infrastructure in the Kingdom, followed by handover to Saudi pilots.
The US State Department recently approved supplying the Kingdom with F-35 fighter jets.
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