The US State Department has given the green light to a potential sale of 20,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) air defence/counter UAS rockets to Saudi Arabia, a deal that could be worth as much as USD1.96 billion once finalised.
The APKWS system, developed by BAE Systems, “bridges the gap between unguided rockets and larger anti-armor munitions with commonality across the U.S. military services – Navy, Marine Corps, Army, and Air Force. The APKWS system consistently delivers pinpoint accuracy for the highest lethality available against soft and lightly-armored targets at a lower cost than other systems.”
Saudi Arabia has requested two variants of the system: 10,000 APKWS-II rockets configured with air-to-air guidance systems, intended for use against aerial threats, and a further 10,000 fitted with air-to-surface guidance for strikes on ground targets.
According to the state department:
“The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia’s capability to deter current and future threats by strengthening its homeland defense, and improving interoperability with U.S. forces, and other regional and NATO forces. The proposed sale will also augment Saudi Arabia’s operational aircraft and enhance its air-to-air, and air-to-ground self-defense capability. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and services into its armed forces. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”
The approval now moves to the next stage of the US arms sale process.
For more information
https://www.state.gov/releases/bureau-of-political-military-affairs/2026/07/kingdom-of-saudi-arabia-advanced-precision-kill-weapon-systems/
https://www.baesystems.com/en/product/apkws
(Image: BAE Systems)