US approves $23bn in arms sales to Arab allies

In notices sent to Congress on Thursday, the State Department said the US would sell more than $8bn in air defence systems and related materiel, including drones, air-to-air missiles, and F-16 fighter jet munitions to the UAE, $8bn in missile defence and radar systems to Kuwait, and $70.5m of aircraft and munitions support to Jordan.

Another $6bn in sales to the three countries was approved but did not require congressional notification because they involved adjustments to previously approved packages or purely commercial sales, a State Department official said, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

Reporting by AP news