Saudi Arabia and the US government are holding negotiations on the final details of the $60bn arms deal that was agreed in 2010.

Prince Khaled bin Sultan, the kingdom’s assistant minister of defense and aviation for military affairs, says that “talks on the final details of a massive arms deal with the United States are ongoing”, according to local reports.

In October, the Obama administration notified US Congress that it planned to sell $60bn-worth of weaponry to Saudi Arabia in one of the largest ever single US arms deals (MEED 21:10:10).

The sale includes 84 Boeing F-15 fighter jets, upgrades to 70 existing Saudi F-15s, 190 helicopters including 70 Boeing Apaches, 72 Black Hawks and 36 Little Birds. The deal also includes missiles, bombs, delivery systems, night-vision goggles and radar warning systems.

The weapons will be delivered over a 15-20 year period.

The deal is seen as a way of shoring up defence in the Gulf. The United States is expected to sign a contract in mid-2011 to sell the UAE an estimated $7bn missile defence system from Lockheed Martin.

The US is also studying a possible $30bn package that would involve a complete upgrade of Saudi Arabia’s naval forces, which could include littoral combat ships and surface vessels.