Gulf States Spending Billions For Weapons and Military Equipment

Western-allied Arab countries in the Middle East are in the middle of a massive arms buildup in response to the perceived threat from Iran, with tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons and military equipment already having been purchased and no end in sight. This week, the government of Lebanon requested 1,000 AGM-114 Hellfire II missiles from the US, with this potential deal estimated to value $146 million. Elsewhere, Defense Newsreported on Thursday that the government of Kuwait is in discussions to buy dozens of warplanes from European and US defense companies and the United Arab Emirates reportedly requested a foreign military sale for guided munitions worth $130 million from the US to replace stocks used in the fight against the Islamic State terror militia and in Yemen.