Saudi Arabia's embassy in the US welcomed the proposed sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets, calling it an 'advancement of defense cooperation' between the two countries, in a Thursday post on X/Twitter. The statement follows the US State Department's clearance of the deal on Thursday evening.
Saudi Arabia's embassy in Washington welcomed the proposed sale of 48 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets on Thursday, calling the deal an 'advancement of defense cooperation' between the two countries. The statement, posted on the embassy's X/Twitter account, is the first official Saudi reaction to the US State Department's clearance of the sale, which was reported by The Zioneer on Thursday evening.
The US State Department cleared the $24.3 billion sale at 20:43 Jerusalem time on Thursday, authorizing the transfer of the advanced stealth aircraft to the Royal Saudi Air Force. The clearance followed earlier reports by Barak Ravid (N12) framing the deal as part of a broader defense package. The State Department stated that the sale 'will not alter the military balance in the region.' The Zioneer reported the approval in multiple updates, noting that the aircraft would be delivered without certain unspecified components.
The F-35 sale is the latest in a series of major US-Saudi defense and nuclear agreements this year. In July, the US Energy Department confirmed a historic civilian nuclear cooperation pact with Saudi Arabia that permits uranium enrichment on Saudi soil, as The Zioneer reported on July 22. Saudi Arabia has also pursued diplomatic de-escalation efforts, including high-stakes calls between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Donald Trump, as reported by The Zioneer on August 2.
The proposed F-35 deal still requires final congressional approval and is expected to face scrutiny over its implications for Israel's qualitative military edge (QME).
5 developments
- DevelopingUS approved $2 billion precision missile system sale to Saudi Arabia, according to reports
- StrongUS approves $4.5 billion sale of KC-46A aerial refueling aircraft to Qatar
- ConfirmedUS approves sale of engines for Turkish fighter jets, worth hundreds of millions
- DevelopingUS approves sale of 5,250 interceptor missiles to four Gulf states
Source and signal
- Open-source intake