Delayed US fighter sales irks Gulf allies

London : A top USAir Force official yesterday said the delayed arms sales have vexed the American allies in the Gulf and urged the government to speed up its consideration of long-standing bids by Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait to buy fighter jets.

Air Force Deputy Undersecretary Heidi Grant said she was trying to reassure officials in those countries that Washington’s failure to approve billions of dollars of US arms sales to them would not alter the strong bilateral air force-to-air force relationships.

“I would like to see a decision soon,” Grant told Reuters in an interview on the eve of the Farnborough Airshow in southern England. 

“It’s caused us to do more to reassure them that this one transaction should not impact the larger relationship,” Grant said, adding that the three requests were still being worked on “at the highest levels of our government.” 

Leanne Caret, chief executive of Boeing Defence, Space & Security, said the approval process was clearly taking longer than the company would like, but Boeing’s Middle East customers were “hanging in there with us” despite delays.

All three arms sales have stalled amid concerns raised by Israel that equipment sent to Gulf states could fall into the wrong hands and be used against it, and by the Obama administration’s desire to integrate arms sales decisions into its broader decision-making on military aid to the Gulf. (With inputs from Reuters)