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Documents Detail General Dynamics’ $136 Million Contract To Sell Arms To Libya

Documents viewed by Reuters indicate that General Dynamics was in the process of upgrading military equipment for an elite Libyan security brigade less than a month before the uprising against Muammar Qaddafi began in February. The documents show a General Dynamics British subsidiary’s contract with Libya for a $136 million deal to supply communications and data systems as part of, what was termed at the time, “the United Kingdom’s initiatives to improve economic, educational and defense links with Libya.” A Jan. 25 letter, written by a General Dynamics UK project manager and found in the wreckage of the Libyan defense ministry, outlines the various weapons upgrades that the company was planning to deliver by April 1. General Dynamics said an upgrade of communications systems for tanks, artillery, and armored troop carriers was never completed. All General Dynamics employees left Libya by early February, according to a company spokesperson.

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