U.S. State Department approves $3.8b in arms sales to Bahrain

Washington: The U.S. State Department has approved arms sales packages worth more than $3.8 billion to Bahrain including F-16 jets, upgrades, missiles and patrol boats, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The proposed sales include 19 F-16V jets made by Lockheed Martin Corp which could have a value of up to $2.7 billion, the Pentagon said. Other potential sales approved Friday include two 35 metre (114 feet) patrol boats with machine guns, 221 anti-tank missiles made by Raytheon Co and $1.8 billion worth of upgrades to Bahrain's existing fleet of F-16 jets, the Pentagon said in separate statements.