Growing global outrage over the massive civilian death toll of the Saudi-led Yemen War has led to a lot of pressure to stop selling the Saudis so many lethal arms. So far, that doesn’t appear to be spilling over to the Saudis’ allies in the war, and the United Arab Emirates continues to buy arms with impunity.



During a weapons exhibition this week, the UAE has reached deals to buy over $5.4 billion in arms another equipment. The arms were from companies around the world, though the biggest deals were with US companies.



$1.9 billion will go to Lockheed Martin and Raytheon as part of a UAE plan to purchase air defense systems. These deals are pending State Department approval, though the administration tends to sign off on such sales relatively quickly.



The UAE is deeply involved in the Saudi War in Yemen, and is also at the center of a controversy about US-provided arms ending up in the hands of al-Qaeda-linked forces, which are on their side in fighting against the Shi’ite Houthis.



Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz