Reuters: Sales of Boeing F-15, F/A-18E/F Jets to Kuwait, Qatar Near US Approval

The U.S. government could approve this month a pair of foreign military sales agreements for Qatar and Kuwait to procure up to 76 Boeing-built (NYSE: BA) F-15 and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet jets worth an estimated $7 billion, Reuters reported Thursday.

Tom Finn and Andrea Shalal write sources said the deals include the sale of 36 F-15 fighter jets to Qatar for approximately $4 billion and Kuwait™s procurement of 28 F/A- 18E/F Super Hornets with options for 12 additional fighter planes worth approximately $3 billion.

An official with Qatar’s defense ministry told Reuters that the government of Qatar expects the White House to issue a decision œnext week on the FMS agreements, which had earlier been approved by officials at the departments of Defense and State.

The report said the deals have been delayed for years due to Israel™s concerns that the defense equipment sold to Gulf Arab countries would be used against the former country.

A source told Reuters that the U.S. government also has begun to consider the potential sale of Lockheed Martin-built (NYSE: LMT) F-16 aircraft to Bahrain under a third FMS deal.

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