the united states sold more than $80 billion in military hardware between 1951 and 2006 to the saudi military. on 20 october 2010, the us state department notified congress of its intention to make the biggest arms sale in american history—an estimated $60.5 billion purchase by the kingdom of saudi arabia. the package represents a considerable improvement in the offensive capability of the saudi armed forces. 2013 saw saudi military spending climb to $67bn, overtaking that of the uk, france and japan to place fourth globally.