Bahrain has signed a $912 million deal with US-based Bell Helicopter to buy 12 AH-1Z Viper helicopters.
Bahrain will receive the first batch from the American aerospace manufacturer by the end of 2022, Bahrain News Agency reported.
The news came during a news conference held by Air Vice-Marshal Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah bin Al-Khalifa, the commander of Bahrain’s royal air force, at Bahrain International Airshow.
The deal came of the same day that the US Senate rejected a long-shot effort to block $300 million in arms sales to Bahrain, as the bill’s opponents stressed the island nation was a critical ally hosting an American naval base.
The effort, led by Republican Senator Rand Paul, failed as the Senate voted 77 to 21 to table the measure, essentially killing it.
Paul is a fervent critic of the war in Yemen. He said Bahrain is a member of the US-backed Saudi-led coalition waging the war, and that Congress ought to block the sales as a way to show its disapproval.
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