US approves potential $1.3B Chinook helicopter sale to UAE, as Trump kicks off Middle East visit

101st Combat Aviation Brigade Soldiers conduct operational assessment of the Block II CH-47F helicopter at Fort Campbell, Ky. (US Army)

BEIRUT — The State Department has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the United Arab Emirates of six CH-47F Chinook helicopters worth an estimated $1.32 billion, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East that kicked off in Saudi Arabia today.

The department said on Monday that the possible deal will equip the fleet of Boeing-built helicopters with an air-to-air refueling capability, 12 T-55-GA-714A engines and four spares, GPS and communication devices, missile warning systems, machine guns, radars, and laser detection capabilities.

“The proposed sale will improve the United Arab Emirates’ capability to meet current and future threats by extending its range of flight operations. The UAE will use these assets in search and rescue, disaster relief, humanitarian support, and counterterrorism operations,” according to the department’s statement. “The United Arab Emirates will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment and services into its armed forces.”

It added that implementing the sale will require 10 US representatives (two governmental and eight contractor) to move to the UAE for five years. But the announcement didn’t mention any technology transfer options. (The UAE and Saudi Arabia have said they’ll require local production of components in any military sale.)

The announcement, issued in the form of congressional notifications from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), is not final. Quantities and dollar totals often shift during negotiations, and today’s announcement technically tees up an opportunity for lawmakers to block the deal within a 30-day period.

In May 2023, the UAE cancelled an €800 million ($888 million) Caracal helicopters deal with Airbus, which left demand for new rotorcraft from the air force vacant until today’s deal.

“We found it difficult to continue the contract due to the high lifecycle cost, the limitations in adapting to modular designs of future mission requirements, and the complex technical proposal,” an official for the UAE’s state-run Tawazun Council told Breaking Defense exclusively when the Carcal procurement was axed.

The State Department also approved on Monday a $130 million FMS to the UAE for F-16 fighter jet sustainment and military equipment. The UAE operates 80 F-16E/F Block 60s, dubbed the “Dessert Falcon.”

Trump arrived to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today in his first international visit. Besides KSA, Trump will be hosted in the UAE and Qatar. It is expected Trump will announce a spate of other military deals that could be signed during this trip, some of which date back to his first term in office.

During that term, his administration OK-ed the first F-35 fighter jet deal to an Arab country (the UAE), but the deal was halted by the Biden administration due to concerns over the stealth plane flying in a country with the Chinese Huawei 5G network.