October 17, 1999 (by Lieven Dewitte) -
U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley, who is on a tour of Middle Eastern states, said on Sunday that he expected a long-delayed deal to sell 80 F-16 warplanes to Gulf Arab ally the United Arab Emirates would be completed.
In May, a United Arab Emirates source said the U.S. had agreed to demands by the UAE over a deal for the warplanes and that an agreement could be finalized by August, but no later than October.
The $7 billion deal had been blocked for months because Washington refused to give the UAE full control over source codes and master keys for weapons systems for the most advanced F-16.
The F-16 deal had originally been expected to be sealed by the end of last year.
