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A New Arms Race in the Gulf?

[Washington Post] Walter Pincus - The Joint Direct Attack Munition is a kit that, when added to the back end of a 500- or 2,000-pound "dumb" bomb, turns it into a lethal, all-weather "smart" weapon that can hit within four feet of a target when launched from a fighter aircraft more than 10 miles away. As proposed in a message to Congress on Jan. 14, the Saudis are authorized to buy 900 Joint Direct Attack Munition kits along with 550 500-pound bombs, 250 2,000-pound bombs, and another 100 2,000-pounders with penetrating warheads. The United Arab Emirates is in line to get 200 JDAM systems for its 80 F-16s. Because JDAMs are offensive weapons, their acquisition by Arab states such as Saudi Arabia that are considered hostile to Israel has drawn concern on Capitol Hill. The Saudis are also in line to receive $631 million in armored vehicles, personnel carriers, towed mortars and machine guns, as well as five sets of airborne early-warning and command and control systems worth $400 million. They would also buy for $220 million 40 Sniper advanced targeting pods, which would upgrade the ability of their F-15s to detect other aircraft at long range. The UAE hopes to buy 900 Hellfire missiles and 300 blast-fragmentation warheads for use with its U.S. attack helicopters and 2,106 anti-tank TOW missiles that also can be fired from helicopters. Anthony H. Cordesman, a specialist in Middle East national security affairs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a surge of arms sales to countries in the region is just beginning. With oil and gas exports providing $2 trillion in revenue, Cordesman expects that "southern Gulf arms sales will be 50 to 100% higher over the next four years." The U.S. will supply only a quarter of the weapons; Russia and European nations also will push to make sales.
2008-01-21 01:00:00
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