The US State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Kuwait for sustainment and follow-on technical support of its Patriot air and missile defense program, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
The proposed deal is valued at an estimated $800 million, according to a statement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), which delivered the required certification to Congress.
The package includes a wide range of non–Major Defense Equipment items and services aimed at maintaining Kuwait’s existing Patriot systems. These include spare and repair parts, stockpile reliability and surveillance firing support, storage and aging services, shared and country-specific PAC-3 Missile Support Center assistance, operator and maintenance support, technical documentation, personnel training, as well as US government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics services.
US officials said the sale would support American foreign policy and national security objectives by strengthening the security of Kuwait, a major non-NATO ally considered a source of political stability and economic progress in the Middle East.
“The proposed sale will improve Kuwait’s capability to meet current and future threats by assisting it in maintaining higher levels of operational readiness while meeting its modernization and professionalization goals,” the DSCA said, adding that Kuwait is expected to have no difficulty integrating the equipment and services into its armed forces.
The agency noted that the sale will not alter the basic military balance in the region and will have no adverse impact on US defense readiness.
RTX Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Leidos, and KBR were identified as the principal contractors. Implementation of the proposed sale would require the temporary assignment of six US government and four contractor personnel to Kuwait to provide technical support and equipment familiarization. No offset agreements are currently known to be associated with the deal.