The US State Department has approved the foreign military sale of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) and Medium Range Air Defense System (MRADS) to Kuwait for three billion dollars.
Kuwait has requested 63 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM); 63 AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II tactical missiles; 12 Multifunctional Information Distribution Systems – Low Volume Terminal (MIDS LVT) Block Upgrade 2; and 12 MIDS LVT Cryptographic Modules, among others.
“The proposed sale will improve Kuwait’s capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing the ability to defend itself against regional malign actors and improve interoperability with systems operated by US forces and other Gulf countries,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said.
The DCSA also expressed confidence that the new defensive equipment will allow the Middle Eastern nation to “protect its borders, energy infrastructure, and its residents.”
Over 4,000 American citizens and military personnel are currently living and working in Kuwait, the US State Department said.
The billion-dollar agreement came less than two weeks after the US government approved a $250-million M1A2 Abrams tank ammunition sale to Kuwait.
The Abrams tank features a 1,500-horsepower turbine engine and special armor with “lethality and survivability needed to defeat advanced threats.”