The Department of State has cleared a potential $100 million foreign military sale of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems, or APKWS, to Saudi Arabia. BAE Systems will be the principal contractor in the FMS, according to an announcement of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which notified Congress of the proposed deal Thursday.
BAE Systems has been operating in the kingdom since 1966, with the Salam Project in 2007 as one of the company’s previous major deals, involving the acquisition of 72 Typhoon aircraft for the modernization of the Saudi Armed Forces.
Laser Guidance Rocket Kits
The recent Saudi procurement request covers 2,000 BAE Systems APKWS II All-Up-Round laser guidance rocket kits and related logistics and program support, such as training, spare parts, missile software and other non-major defense equipment. The proposed sale’s implementation will call for assigning up to two contractor and two U.S. government representatives annually to Saudi Arabia for a one- week program technical support and management oversight.
DSCA said the Saudi procurement will advance U.S. foreign policy goals and will improve the security of an ally contributing to the Gulf Region’s political and economic stability. The weapon acquisition will not affect the region’s basic military balance, the agency added. It also noted that the kingdom’s military will have no difficulty in integrating the APKWS into its arsenal.
APKWS Deployment Among US Allies
The APKWS system is designed to fill the gap between unguided rockets and larger anti-armor munitions, with its deployment extending across the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Army and Air Force. Since the system’s introduction in 2008, over 50,000 APKWS units have been sold worldwide, according to BAE Systems.
In June 2020, BAE Systems demonstrated for the first time its APKWS laser-guided rockets from a tactical configuration ground-based weapon system. Other tests that followed included a demonstration for the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office on the rockets’ capability against drones, aimed at fielding the rockets to U.S. allies.
A previous Saudi FMS request was approved by the State Department in July, involving a potential $2.8 billion procurement for follow-on logistics and sustainment support services for its air force’s aircraft fleets and existing platforms. No prime contractor is involved in the FMS and various contractors are expected to participate in the deal.
