Illustrative image. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Sommers)
The F-35 Lightning stealth fighter jets that the United States will sell to Saudi Arabia will be less advanced than those used by Israel, American officials and defense experts told Reuters on November 19.
The officials told the news agency that the fighter jets Saudi Arabia will receive will not have some of the advanced weapons systems and equipment that the ones delivered to Israel possesses, as every jet is customized to the country it is designated to.
They added that while Israel already has two squadrons of the F-35 and another on order, the deal for Saudi Arabia will be limited to two squadrons only. They further noted that any final sales to the kingdom would have to be approved by Congress.
On the same day, a White House official told Israel’s Channel 12 news that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump will hold further talks with Israel about the agreement in order to ensure the deal is balanced.
Trump first revealed the U.S. intent to sell the F-35 to Saudi Arabia on November 14, claiming at the time that the kingdom wants to buy “a lot” of jets.
“They wanna buy a lot of jets,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “I’m looking at that. They’ve asked me to look at it. They want to buy a lot of ‘35’ – but they want to buy actually more than that, fighter jets.”
Axios reported the very next day that Israel does not object to the sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia but insists that any transfer of such advanced fighter jets be conditioned on the normalization of relations.
On November 18 it became known that the Israeli military submitted a formal position paper to Israel’s political echelon two days earlier, in which the Israeli Air Force presented an explicit objection to the sale of the advanced fighter jet to Saudi Arabia.
According to the document, Israel’s air superiority could be eroded if other countries in the Middle East possess the advanced stealth fighter jet. The document was first reported by the Israeli Ynet news website, and later confirmed by the military.
Still, on the same day Trump said that the F-35s that the kingdom will get will be “pretty similar” to the ones that the U.S. provides to Israel.
Trump made the comments alongside Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office, in response to a question about how he plans to ensure Israel’s qualitative military edge.
“I know [Israel would] like you to get planes of reduced caliber. I don’t think that makes you too happy,” Trump said speaking to MBS.
“As far as I’m concerned, I think they are both at a level where they should get top of the line,” he added. “We’re going to have a deal. They’re going to purchase F-35s.”
Addressing the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington on November 19, Trump said that the U.S. is selling top-notch military equipment to Saudi Arabia, including 300 tanks and “airplanes,” an apparent reference to the F-35s.
“We’re working on getting that approved very quickly. It’s already approved, don’t worry,” Trump quips. “We have to go through a process… the process will take 24 hours, so you’re in good shape.”
Later on the same day, the White House announced that Trump approved a “major defense sale package,” to Saudi Arabia which includes future deliveries of F-35s.
The F-35 has faced criticism over a wide array of problems, from buggy software, to sensor fusion, unreliable engines prone to overheating, design issues that limit speed and agility in addition to maintenance difficulties.
Click to see the full-size image.
The purchase of a downgraded version of the fighter jet would not give Saudi Arabia a military edge over Israel, but would certainly put its air force way above Iran and Turkey in terms of capabilities.
The signing of the agreement does not, however, mean that Saudi Arabia will end up getting the F-35s. The U.S. is clearly going to face serious resistance from Israel, and it has in the past scraped similar deals with both Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
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my americunt witchdoctor make me send burger to zelensky
how do you know when a ‘deal’ is a shakedown? when you pay top dollar for ‘b’ grade junk.
saudi arabia received much american hardware and training for top dollars, but that didn’t help much in winning against ansar allah.
maybe the planes are not the real deal