Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Massive Saudi-US Arms Deal on Track VOA News 05 January 2011 Flares are released from an F-15E Strike Eagle during a local training mission over North Carolina, 17 Dec 2010 Photo: U.S. Air Force/Sgt. Michael B. Keller Flares are released from an F-15E Strike Eagle during a local training mission over North Carolina, 17 Dec 2010 Saudi Arabian media are reporting that a massive arms deal with the United States -- the largest ever single U.S. arms sale -- is on track and in the final stages of negotiations. Saudi authorities said this week that the deal to buy up to $60 billion worth of advanced military aircraft will also include additional F-15 fighter jets. Saudi Arabia's assistant defense minister on Tuesday confirmed the deal in Riyadh's first official comments since it was announced in September. The Obama administration sees the deal as part of a broader policy aimed at supporting Arab allies against the rise of Iran as a regional power. The administration said it approved the sale after considering Saudi Arabia's defense needs and determining that it would not upset the current balance of power in the region.  At a time when nearly one in 10 U.S. workers is unemployed, the Obama administration also sees the deal as creating new American jobs. Negotiations are under way for naval and ballistic missile defense upgrades that could add tens of billions of dollars in additional sales. The last significant Saudi purchase of U.S. weapons systems was a 1992 $9-billion deal for 72 F-15s. Some information for this report was provided by Reuters. NEW: Follow our Middle East reports on [1]Twitter and discuss them on our [2]Facebook page. References 1. http://twitter.com/VOAMidEast 2. http://www.facebook.com/pages/VOAMiddleEastVoices/124360240958667? v=wall .