Lockheed Martin to Sell Four Warships to Saudi Arabia for $11.25 Billion

The State Department has recently approved major defense contractor Lockheed Martin’s sale of four heavily armed Multi-Mission Surface Combatant warships to Saudi Arabia as part of a whopping $16 billion deal.

Via Defense News:

The four ships, dubbed the Multi-Mission Surface Combatant (MMSC), are expected to be classed as frigates by the Saudis. They will be the largest component of the SNEP 2 program, which is also expected to include six corvettes, 20 to 24 patrol vessels, three maritime patrol aircraft, and 30 to 50 UAVs. Altogether, the SNEP 2 program is expected to be worth at least $16 billion…

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to provide the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with four multi-mission surface combatants based on the Freedom-class littoral combat ship,” [Lockheed Martin spokesman Keith] Little said.

Congress has 30 days to approve or deny the deal, but since they are all bought and paid for, you know they will sign off on it as the lobbyists have paid them handsomely to do. Don’t they always?

Saudi Arabia has officially overtaken India to become the world’s largest arms importer, just by the way.

Good thing to know our dangerous alliance with Saudi Arabia is deepening, especially now. Then again, isn’t this the whole purpose of keeping the war on terror going forever?

To make bloody bank off of it?