US approves $1.94 billion military sale to Norway

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US State Department on Tuesday approved the potential sale of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles and related equipment to Norway for an estimated $1.94 billion.

The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said it delivered the required certification notifying Congress of the possible sale.

Norway requested 300 AIM-120C-8 missiles and 20 missile guidance sections and other items to buy, the Pentagon said in a statement, adding the principal contractor will be RTX Corporation in Tucson, Arizona.

"The proposed sale will improve Norway’s capability to meet current and future threats by supplementing and replacing its AIM-120B AMRAAMs with the latest version of the AIM-120C.

"The newly acquired missiles will be used for ground-based air defense in the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) but may be subject to dual use with the F-35A," it added.