WASHINGTON (AFP) -- Lawmakers are striking a note of alarm over reported U.S. plans to sell sophisticated satellite guided bombs to Saudi Arabia, as part of a $20 billion arms sale.

A coalition of 188 members of the House of Representatives warned that if the technology fell into the ""wrong hands"" it could harm U.S. forces in the Middle East and threaten Israel.
""Any sale of JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) technology to Saudi Arabia must come with guarantees backed by strict conditions notified to Congress followed by regular reporting,"" the lawmakers said in a letter to President George W. Bush.
They also called for tight congressional oversight of the sale, and intense U.S. consultations with key U.S. ally Israel.
The New York Times reported in April that the U.S.-Persian Gulf arms package had been delayed because of Israeli concerns over the sale to Saudi Arabia of certain precision guided munitions.
""Saudi Arabia remains in a formal state of war with Israel -- the preeminent democracy in the Middle East,"" the members of congress wrote in the letter.
""Additionally, Saudi groups continue to export Wahabi extremist ideology throughout the world -- an anti-American ideology we face on battlefields of the Global War on Terror.""
The letter was coordinated by Republican congressman Mark Kirk and Democrat Christopher Carney, and contained the signatures of members of both parties.
The Saudi arms package is part of a huge weapons sale to U.S. allies in the Middle East and Persian Gulf regions announced in July.
The bonanza includes a package worth $13 billion for Egypt, and reportedly arms deals worth at least $20 billion for other Persian Gulf allies.
In August, the United States signed a deal with key ally Israel to boost its military aid to $30 billion over the next decade.