Reuters Summit-U.S. may wrap up $2.5 bln Israel F-35 deal soon

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Thursday September 09, 2010 05:46:18 AM GMT

(For other news from the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit, click on http://www.reuters.com/summit/AerospaceandDefense10?pid=500)

WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The United States is waiting for Japan to sign a security pact as a prelude to sales talks on Lockheed Martin Corp's new F-35 fighter jets, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said.

Separately, the next step in a proposed $2.5 billion sale of 20 F-35s to Israel could come as soon as mid-month, though that date might slip, Richard Genaille, deputy head of the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, told the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington on Thursday.

The Pentagon's total arms sales in fiscal 2010 are expected to total $37.9 billion in fiscal 2010, which ends Sept. 30, down from an estimated $40.5 billion in fiscal 2009, Genaille said.

Genaille said the Pentagon, State Department and White House are continuing to work out details of a multibillion-dollar sale of fighter planes and helicopters to Saudi Arabia, but declined to give any details. "It's major," he said.

Genaille said the United States has spent all but $10.1 million of $3.6 billion authorized for Afghan security forces, and would spend most of the rest before the end of the year.

He said the plan was to increase the number of Mi-17 helicopters owned and operated by Afghanistan to 56 from 35, which would help the Afghan military more effective in moving around a country that has little transportation infrastructure. (Reporting by Jim Wolf and Andrea Shalal-Esa, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

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