Missiles Arms sales rally continues in the Persian Gulf, this week, sales of advanced versions of the TOW missiles to Kuwait and various aerial weapons to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were reported by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
The aerial weapons to be ordered by the UAE will equip their F-16 Block 60 aircraft, and include 224 AIM-120C-7 AMRAAM air/air missiles, 450 GBU-24 Paveway III laser guidance kits and 200 GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) tail kits for Mk-84 bombs (2,000 pounds), and 488 GBU-12 Paveway II guidance kits for Mk-82 (500 pound) bombs. The order, $326 million will also include 224 MK-84 2,000 pound bombs.
Kuwait will be upgrading its TOW missile systems, as their missiles are nearing the end of their shelf life. Kuwait is buying 3,510 TOWs of the latest Tow-2A/B Radio Frequency (RF) models, a wireless version of the TOW. The $328 million order will include 2,106 TOW-2A RF missiles and 1,404 TOW-2B Radio Frequency missiles. The Kuwaiti Army operates 118 vehicle mounted TOW systems. The country’s National Guards has additional systems, mounted on armored cars.
