US approves possible $24.3 billion F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia

Summary

• The State Department cleared a potential sale of 48 Lockheed Martin F-35 jets to Riyadh.
• Israel has been the only Middle East operator of the stealth fighter for a decade.
• Congressional approval is still required, and the deal tests Washington's qualitative military edge commitment.

The latest

Forty-eight F-35 Lightning II fighters and 49 Pratt & Whitney engines are at the center of a potential $24.3 billion package the US State Department approved on Thursday, according to Reuters. The department said the package also covers communications equipment, spare parts and support items. The sale still requires congressional approval before it can proceed.

Details

• The package: Reuters reported the State Department valued the potential sale at $24.3 billion, covering 48 aircraft, 49 Pratt & Whitney engines, communications gear, spare parts and support items. The approval clears the way for a transaction but does not conclude it, and no delivery timeline was announced.
• The Israeli benchmark: Washington screens Middle East weapons sales against a standard ensuring Israel retains a qualitative military edge over Arab states in the region. Reuters reported a Saudi F-35 sale would test how that commitment is defined in practice.
• Who flies it: The F-35 is built with stealth technology and is regarded as the world's most advanced fighter. Israel has operated the aircraft for a decade and remains the only country in the Middle East to possess it, according to Reuters.
• The Saudi response: The Saudi embassy in Washington welcomed the proposed sale as a further step in defense cooperation, saying it "reflects the strength and enduring nature of the Saudi-U.S. strategic partnership."
• How it started: Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal for the jets to US President Donald Trump in early 2025, Reuters reported, after years of interest in the Lockheed Martin fighter. Riyadh has sought the aircraft to modernize its air force and counter regional threats, particularly from Iran.
• Current fleet: The Saudi air force flies a mix of Boeing F-15s alongside European Tornado and Typhoon aircraft. Saudi Arabia is the largest customer for US arms, and Reuters reported the kingdom is seeking to diversify its defense partnerships while preserving its security relationship with Washington.
• The congressional test: Lawmakers must sign off before the sale proceeds, and Reuters reported that scrutiny could pose challenges. Members of Congress previously questioned arms deals with Riyadh following the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
• The bigger deal: In 2025 the United States agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, which the White House described as the largest defense cooperation agreement Washington has ever concluded. The new F-35 approval would sit alongside that framework.
• The timing: Reuters reported the approval lands as the kingdom is drawn deeper into war in the Middle East, and as Riyadh pursues military and economic modernization under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 agenda.

Background

The qualitative military edge standard governs how Washington calibrates arms transfers across the region, and it has kept the F-35 out of Arab air forces. Saudi Arabia has pressed for the aircraft for years to supplement an aging mixed fleet of American and European fighters.

Between the lines

Reuters assessed that a completed sale would mark a significant US policy shift and could alter the regional military balance. That reading rests on two facts stated above: Israel's decade-long monopoly on the F-35 in the Middle East, and the qualitative edge standard that produced it. Congress, which already probed Riyadh arms deals after 2018, is where that shift gets contested.

What's next

Watch the congressional review period and whether lawmakers move to block or delay the package, plus any Israeli government response and confirmation of aircraft configuration or delivery schedule from Lockheed Martin.

Source: Reuters