Saudi Arabia to Buy Four Lockheed Martin Littoral Combat Ships for $6Bln

Saudi Arabia will reportedly buy four Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships from Lockheed Martin under a foreign military sale.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Saudi Arabia will spend $6 billion dollars to purchase four Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ships from Lockheed Martin under a foreign military sale, media reported.

"Saudi Arabia is set to pull the trigger on a $6-billion deal to purchase four Lockheed Martin-built frigates based on the company’s Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship, as part of a major Foreign Military Sales (FMS) case," the United States Naval Institute (USNI) said Friday.

The deal, part of an overall $110-billion foreign military sale, will be announced during President Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh on Saturday, the report said, citing unnamed administration officials.

The $6-billion will include spares, training and other logistics items, the report noted.

"The primary difference between the Freedom-class and the Saudi-variant is the lack of modular mission space found in the US version of the Littoral Combat Ship," USNI noted.

The LCS was designed to counter small surface craft attacks, diesel submarine threats and asymmetrical mine threats, according to published reports. Modular mission space refers to a method to quickly and easily remove and replace specialized equipment used for different combat missions.