US approves 48 F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia

SECURITY COOPERATION: The sale will improve Riyadh’s homeland defense and will not alter the military balance in the region, the US Department of State said

The US has approved a US$24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 stealth warplanes to Saudi Arabia, the US Department of State said on Thursday, the kingdom’s latest major arms purchase since the start of the Iran war.

Saudi Arabia has long sought to buy F-35s, but officials from Israel has voiced concern about their sale to Riyadh despite a push for the kingdom to normalize relations.

“The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia’s capability to deter current and future threats by strengthening its homeland defense, and improving interoperability with US forces,” the department said. “[It] will also augment Saudi Arabia’s operational aircraft and enhance its air-to-air, and air-to-ground self-defense capability.”

Visitors walk past a 1:1 mock-up of a US F-35 aircraft on Tuesday last week at the International Defence Industry Exhibition in Kielce, Poland.

Photo: AFP

The Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington praised the transaction, saying it “reflects the strength and enduring nature” of the relationship with the US.

The security cooperation between the two countries “has contributed to regional stability, strengthened our collective defense capabilities, and advanced our shared security interests,” it added.

Saudi Arabia has been repeatedly targeted with drone and missile strikes by Tehran’s forces since the US and Israel launched their war against Iran in February, and has also been hit by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Yemen’s civil war had been dormant for years, but fighting between Houthis and the internationally recognized, Riyadh-backed government reignited in July, with the rebels declaring a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and targeting its ships in the Red Sea.

Washington has not directly entered the conflict, but a US official said earlier this week that a US military task force is working to enhance intelligence sharing and planning assistance for Saudi Arabian forces.

The department has notified the US Congress about the proposed sale, which would require the approval of US lawmakers. It did not provide a time frame for the delivery of the jets.

The F-35 sale “will not alter the military balance in the region,” it said.

The US has so far only allowed the sales of F-35s to its closest allies, including a number of NATO allies and Israel.

The F-35 sale is the latest in a series of major arms buys by Saudi Arabia this year.

The department announced the approval of a US$5 billion sale of more than 10,000 bombs to Riyadh earlier this month.

Washington also signed off on the sale of 60 tank engines and related equipment to Saudi Arabia at a cost of US$750 million this month, and a US$1.96 billion deal in July for the kingdom to buy guidance sections that can convert rockets into precision weapons.