The United States Department of State has approved the sale of 280 AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. According to the statement published on Friday (04), the deal is estimated at US$ 650 million.
Before the deal can go through, it must still be approved by of Congress. The missiles are of the C-7/C-8 variants, the most advanced available for export at the moment. Guided by active radar, AMRAAM (an acronym for Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles) will be used on the Eurofighter Typhoon, F-15 Eagle, Strike Eagle and F-15SA fighters.
The contract also provides for the supply of 596 LAU-128 launch rails, spare parts and services, says the Defense and Security Cooperation Agency. "The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia's ability to face current and future threats by increasing its stockpiles of medium-range missiles for its fleet of fighter jets for national defense.”
Saudi Arabia has used AMRAAM primarily in its campaign against the Houthi rebels' suicide drones. In March of this year, a video posted on social media shows one of these drones. being shot down by an AMRAAM shot from an F-15.
On Twitter, the State Department reinforced that there was an increase in attacks in 2020. The institution claims that the missiles “have been instrumental in intercepting these attacks that also threaten US forces and over 70.000 US citizens in the Kingdom.” In March, a Houthi drone damaged an A320 civilian in an attack on Abha International Airport in the south of the country.
We've seen an increase in cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia over the past year. Saudi AIM-120C missiles, deployed from Saudi aircraft, have been instrumental in intercepting these attacks that also US forces at risk and over 70,000 US citizens in the Kingdom at risk.
— Political-Military Affairs, US Dept of State (@StateDeptPM) November 4, 2021
Even important, AMRAAM are expensive missiles. The portal The War Zone points out that an AIM-120C is valued at US$ 1 million, a price well above the drones that are increasingly cheaper. The value also does not take into the costs for aircraft maintenance and safe and controlled storage of the missile.
Since drones also have a low heat signature, the much cheaper AIM-9 Sidewinder cannot be used against unmanned aircraft. The use of the cannon can also be discarded due to the small size and low speed of the target. speaking to The War Zone, an F-15 pilot claims he shot it down with the cannon “It is possible, but it is many times more difficult”.
“Apparently, the drones have enough radar signature to allow an acquisition before reaching the minimum AMRAAM range, which would explain the choice of the missile by the Saudi pilots”, said another pilot to the portal.
Yemen's Houthi movement regularly launches drones and missiles at Saudi Arabia, many of which Riyadh claims to intercept. Some had already reached Abha International Airport, which is about 120 km from the border with Yemen.
Even with the existence of other cheaper means, the use of missiles and high-performance fighters ends up being more suitable for the Saudis due to the country's territorial extension. Until another way is found, the Royal Saudi Arabian Air Force will continue to carry out this type of operation on a daily basis.
