News In Brief

Saudi arms deals with US, W. Germany reported

The Pentagon said Friday it informed Congress it planned to sell Maverick air-to-ground missiles to Saudi Arabia. It put the value of the 1,600 antiarmor Maverick missiles at $119 million. The Pentagon said the Saudis already have heat-seeking Mavericks but needed additional ones to provide their F-5 fighters with a full 60-day war reserve stock.

And in Tel Aviv, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl told Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir that Bonn would sell weapons to Saudi Arabia despite strong Israeli opposition. West German spokesman Peter Boenisch told reporters West Germany would insist on Saudi guarantees that the arms, worth $5.5 billion, not be sold to a third party such as the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The Saudis have reportedly prepared a shopping list that includes Gepard antiaircraft tanks, Roland ground-to-air missiles, and Marder armored personnel carriers.