U.S. Wants to Upgrade Arms Sale to Saudis
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WASHINGTON — The White House said today that it has notified Congress of plans to sell Saudi Arabia 1,600 ground-to-air Maverick missiles of a more advanced type than had been previously approved.
Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said Congress approved the sale of 1,600 Maverick B missiles in 1984, but the Saudis had asked for a delay in the delivery.
“We now want to substitute the D model, which uses a different guidance system, for the B model, so we have notified Congress that we would like to go ahead with that,” Fitzwater told reporters.
The proposed $360-million sale of the armor-piercing missiles comes at a sensitive time.
The Reagan Administration was forced last month to postpone the planned sale of 12 replacement F-15 fighters to Saudi Arabia amid congressional opposition.
Criticized Over Stark Incident
Opponents of that sale criticized the Saudis for not forcing down an Iraqi Mirage jet that attacked the U.S. frigate Stark in the Persian Gulf on May 17.
Political fallout from earlier revelations of Saudi involvement in secret aid to the Nicaraguan contras also played a role.
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