Senator Byrd to vote against AWACS sale

Senate minority leader Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia announced he would vote against the Reagan administration's proposed sale of sophisticated radar planes and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia.

Senator Byrd said the proposal was imprudent, would place US interests in jeopardy, and set back Israeli-Arab peace negotiations.

The decision breathed new life into the campaign to block the sale. Opponents of the $8.5 billion deal had earlier predicted that Mr. Byrd would side with President Reagan.