Struggling plane manufacturer Boeing has been awarded two contracts for the development and delivery of air-to- surface and anti-ship missiles valued at $2.6 billion for Saudi Arabia and other nations.
The US Department of Defense has reported that Boeing has been granted contracts for the manufacture and delivery of missiles, as well as the upgrade of so-called Harpoon and Standoff Land Attack Missile Extended Response, or SLAM ER weapons technology.
The first deal, pegged at $1.97 billion, is to modernize the SLAM ER cruise missiles as well as delivery of 650 new missiles "in support of Saudi Arabia 's government," military officials said.
The new missiles are expected to be delivered by 2026. The deal comes when the Chicago-headquartered aircraft builder, faced a drop in sales due to the ill effects of the coronavirus crisis to global travel demand. The firm also faced strong criticism over its 737 MAX aircraft, two of which crashed due to technical failures.
In its own statement, Boeing disclosed the deal it obtained would allow it to continue its production of SLAM ER, which ended in 2008. The announcement also comes after Democratic lawmakers lobbied in 2019 to end US support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen.
Harpoon Block II features an all-weather, autonomous, over-the-horizon attack capability and can be deployed by plane, submarines, ships, or mobile coastal defense vehicles. Moreover, SLAM ER is combat-tested, precision-strike, all-weather missile packed with other capabilities.
Boeing Arms Vice President Cindy Gruensfelder said, they are happy to continue the company's long history of cooperation with the Navy to develop weapons to protect America and its foreign allies. The awards, she said, will not only extend the manufacture of the Harpoon program through 2026, they will also restart the production line for SLAM ER and ensure deliveries through 2028.
The aircraft giant was also granted $656 million to provide 467 Harpoon anti-ship missiles to India, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Qatar and The Netherlands, a media statement said. Manufacture will mostly be done at the group's Indianapolis and St. Louis facilities.
On top of building high-tech aircraft, Boeing is also engaged in the design, manufacture and selling of satellites, rockets, rotorcraft, telecommunications equipment, and missiles globally. Shares of the company were down 3.87 percent at $116.79 in morning trading on Thursday.
Al-Arabiya disclosed earlier this week that Saudi Arabia would start deploying its own missile defence systems after Washington had said it would start pulling out their defense systems out of the country.
