President Donald Trump signed what the White House called “the largest defense sales agreement in history” with Saudi Arabia on Monday, marking a major step in his administration’s renewed push to strengthen military ties with Gulf partners.

The $142 billion arms package includes warfighting equipment, defense services, and training support across five broad categories: air force and space capabilities, air and missile defense, maritime and border security, land force modernization, and information and communications upgrades. The White House described the deal as “a clear demonstration of our commitment to strengthening our partnership” with the kingdom.

“Our defense relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is stronger than ever under President Trump’s leadership,” a White House fact sheet stated. The agreement forms part of a broader Saudi commitment to invest $600 billion in various U.S. industries.

The White House has not released platform-specific breakdowns of the arms package, and officials did not confirm whether deals like fighter jet sales were included. “Sales that we intend to complete” was the phrasing used in the administration’s statement, suggesting that negotiations are still ongoing.

In parallel with the Saudi deal, the State Department approved a $1.32 billion Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to the UAE for six Boeing CH-47F Block II Chinook helicopters. The heavy-lift helicopters, equipped with air-to-air refueling capabilities and upgraded avionics, are intended for search and rescue, disaster relief, counterterrorism, and humanitarian operations.

According to the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the UAE’s order includes 12 T-55-GA-714A turbine engines, six installed, four spares, GPS navigation with M-code encryption, secure radios, and the AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning System. Implementation will require the deployment of 10 U.S. representatives to the UAE for a five-year period.

In addition to the helicopter purchase, the U.S. approved a $130 million sustainment package for the UAE’s fleet of 80 F-16E/F “Desert Falcon” fighter jets. The total value of both UAE packages amounts to $1.457 billion.

Earlier this month, the U.S. greenlit a $3.5 billion sale of AIM-120C-8 advanced air-to-air missiles to Saudi Arabia. A $100 million deal for 2,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems (APKWS) was also finalized in March. 

David Des Roches, a defense expert at the Near East South Asia Center for Security Studies, told Breaking Defense that he expected the Saudi package to include components for upgrading the kingdom’s Patriot air defense systems. “They just need a lot of missiles and they need new launchers,” he said, adding that improved Patriot radar has long been a goal for the Saudis.

Despite speculation, no mention was made of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a platform that Saudi Arabia and the UAE have sought for years. Trump previously approved the sale of F-35s to the UAE during his first term, but the deal was frozen by the Biden administration over concerns about Chinese 5G technology operating in the country.

Des Roches noted to Breaking Defense that the concern is not political, but technical. “As long as there are any hostile powers that have the ability to collect electronic signature and telemetry on the F-35… they will have the ability to build up a dictionary of signatures and compromise the stealth characteristics of the F-35,” he said. “The ball is with the countries that want to have the F-35.”

The defense agreements are taking shape against a backdrop of U.S. strategic competition with China and Russia in the Gulf. The UAE’s decision in 2023 to cancel an €800 million Caracal helicopter contract with Airbus left a vacuum for heavy-lift rotorcraft now being filled by the new Chinook deal. An official from the UAE’s Tawazun Council said at the time that the Airbus platform’s high lifecycle cost and limited modularity were key factors in its cancellation.

Meanwhile, Qatar continues to deepen ties with the U.S., with the recent $2 billion approval for MQ-9B drone sales, the first of their kind to the region. Qatar, which hosts the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East, has also played a key diplomatic role in brokering ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas. Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, is expected in Doha this week to advance hostage-release talks and support a ceasefire deal.