Reagan Will Back Sale of Arms to Jordon

The Administration will give the go-ahead to a controversial $1-billion arms sale to Jordan, State Department officials said today.

Confirmation of the decision came only hours before King Hussein arrived in Washington for a series of meetings, including a session at the White House with President Reagan on Monday.

The Administration has been warned by key figures on Capitol Hill that there is almost no chance that the sale of the sophisticated weapons--including anti-aircraft weapons and modern aircraft--will be approved by Congress, but the State Department feels it is important to make the gesture to show support for an Arab leader that it considers to be moderate and influential.

Moscow Turn Hinted

Jordan has been interested in a range of U.S. hardware, including advanced F-20 or F-16 warplanes, anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, armored vehicles and troop-carrying helicopters. The sale would require partial U.S. financing.

King Hussein has said the sale would be “a very serious test case” of the U.S. commitment to Jordan and indicated that failure might push him into a warmer arms relationship with Moscow.

Waiting in the wings is a separate sale to Saudi Arabia. Frustration in buying U.S.-built F-15 fighters prompted the Saudis to place a $5.7-billion order with Britain on Thursday for 132 swing-wing Tornado combat jets and training planes.

Congress forced Reagan to put off any sales to Jordan or Saudi Arabia last year. The President bought time early this year by ordering a broad study of security needs in the region.