The export approval is a significant reversal of longstanding US policy.
In a significant reversal of longstanding US policy, authorities in Washington have cleared Saudi Arabia to acquire the Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter.
An approval notice published by the US state department on 17 September approved a request from Riyadh covering 48 conventional take-off and landing F-35As at a value of more than $24 billion.
Despite being a close security partner with Saudi Arabia, lawmakers and officials in Washington have long opposed such a sale on a variety of grounds. These include concerns about eroding Israel’s technological military advantage in the Middle East region and the possibility that Chinese-made telecomunications equipment used in Saudi Arabia could collect sensitive intelligence on the stealthy F-35.
Those longstanding reservations have apparently been resolved to the satisfaction of US authorities.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region,” the state department says in its approval notice.
However, US President Donald said back in November that he planned to approve an F-35 sale to Riyadh, raising questions about the rigour of the review process.
Notably, the state department says an F-35 sale “will not alter the military balance in the region” — a condition that must generally be met for all US arms exports to be approved.
That is a striking conclusion, given that Israel is currently the only F-35 operator in the Middle East with the local-specific F-35I Adir configuration. The two countries, who were once foes, have been moving closer in recent years.
Former US President Joe Biden had sought to reach a deal that would have normalised diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and which would have included an F-35 sale to Riyadh. That effort collapsed after the 7 October attack by Hamas in 2023 and the start of Israel’s bloody war in Gaza.
Riyadh and Washington are reportedly in discussions about intelligence sharing and assistance related to Saudi Arabia’s war against Houthi militants in Yemen, which has reignited in recent days.
This week the Houthis claimed to have shot down a Royal Saudi Air Force Boeing F-15SA fighter.
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