The United States has closed a deal worth nearly 3.5 billion dollars to sell missiles and related technology to its close Mideast ally, the United Arab Emirates.
Pentagon spokesman George Little announced the Christmas Day sale on Friday night. He noted that the U.S. and U.A.E. have a strong defense relationship and are both interested in what he described as "a secure and stable" Persian Gulf region.
The deal includes 96 missiles, along with supporting technology and training support. Little says it will bolster the nation's missile defense capacity.
Wary of Iran, the U.S. has been building up the missile defense systems of its allies, including a 1.7 billion dollar deal to upgrade Saudi Arabia's Patriot missiles and the sale of 209 Patriot missiles to Kuwait, valued at around 900 million dollars.
