On October 20, U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency lodged four separate notifications with U.S. Congress covering a huge foreign military sales arms package for Saudi Arabia, with Boeing the major beneficiary if the procurements go ahead.
At the heart of the deal is a $30 billion package covering the supply of 84 Boeing F-15SA Eagles and the upgrade of 70 existing F-15S strike aircraft to the same standard. The F-15SA will be broadly similar to Singapore’s F-15SG, but will add the latest BAE Systems digital electronic warfare system (DEWS). It will have General Electric F110-GE-129 engines, APG-63(V)3 AESA radar, LANTIRN TigerEye navigation pod, Sniper targeting pod, and AAS-42 infrared search and track. The package also includes a vast amount of ordnance, including Harpoon missiles to provide an anti-ship capability, and 10 Goodrich DB-110 reconnaissance pods have been requested. If the deal proceeds, 12 of the F-15SAs will be based in the U.S. for training.
