The U.S. government has approved $16.5 billion in weapons, military equipment, and ammunition sales to the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, including $8.46 billion for the UAE in four separate purchases and $8 billion for Kuwait.
The UAE is authorized to acquire 10 FS-LIDS anti-drone systems at a maximum cost of $2.1 billion.
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In Raytheon's system, target detection is handled by the KuMRFS radar and an optical targeting station, while specialized Coyote Block 2 anti-aircraft missiles—originally designed as anti-drone weapons—carry out target destruction. However, the package for 10 systems includes only 240 Coyote Block 2 missiles. This means that the average cost of a single FS-LIDS system, which carries 24 missiles, is $210 million.
The Coyote Block 2 is a subsonic missile equipped with an active radar homing seeker, capable of engaging targets at ranges of up to 15 km. The UAE's dependence on U.S. munitions is unlikely to be critical, since Raytheon agreed in April 2025 to deploy the Coyote locally.
The sale of 400 missiles in the AIM-120C-7 and AIM-120C-8 variants is estimated at up to $1.22 billion. Each missile in the system costs an average of $3 million. This price currently applies to export sales and is listed in the 2025 export licenses for Germany and Australia.
The sale of 1,500 GBU-39/B SDBs and 1,200 JDAM kits—including 900 KMU-556 units for 2,000-pound Mk 84 bombs and 400 KMU-557 units for 500-pound BLU-109/B bunker-busting bombs—is valued at $644 million.
Meanwhile, the UAE is reportedly preparing $4.5 billion to purchase components of the THAAD system, including one AN/TPY-2 radar, two fire control stations, and two launchers. In addition, the package includes 12 Sentinel A4 radars, which are not standard components of the THAAD system and are designed to detect aerodynamic targets at ranges of up to approximately 120 km.
Kuwait, in turn, has received approval to purchase eight new LTAMDS radars worth $8 billion, which are key components of the upgraded Patriot air defense system. Kuwait currently has up to eight Patriot PAC-3 batteries, and these radars are clearly intended to upgrade them.
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