The Trump administration has approved a potential multi-billion-dollar sale of stealth F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, a move that would bolster the Gulf ally’s military, even as it threatens to shift the balance of power in the Middle East.
The US State Department announced the proposed sale of the most advanced American fighter jet – the Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft - and related equipment, worth an estimated $24.3 billion, according to a statement on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia is a major purchaser of US weapons, including F-15 fighter jets, and the Gulf state has long sought to join the F-35 program.
However, the sale still needs approval from Congress, where some members are wary of deepening military cooperation with Saudi Arabia given the kingdom’s ties to China. Even if the sale is approved, delivery of the fighter jets would be years away.
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The proposed sale would make Saudi Arabia only the second country in the Middle East to operate the advanced stealth fighters alongside Israel, significantly upgrading the Saudi air force and potentially altering the balance of military power across the region.
Under US law, Washington is required to ensure Israel maintains a “qualitative military edge,” effectively guaranteeing it gets more advanced US weapons than other regional Arab states. In July, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly opposed the sale of F-35s to Turkey, warning such a move would “destroy the power balance in the Middle East.” But after the State Department announced the potential sale, Israeli officials did not immediately comment.
In November, when President Donald Trump said he would be selling the jets to the Saudis, an Israeli security source said it was “very concerning” for Israel if Riyadh acquired the fifth-generation fighter jet. “The severity is not exaggerated,” the source told CNN. “It is not good (for Israel).”
But the US dismissed Israeli concerns. “The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the military balance in the region,” the State Department said.
The sale was also supposed to be linked to Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel, which would give the two countries open lines of communication as well as handing Trump a foreign policy win. But Trump appears to have abandoned the requirement for normalization, instead focusing on billions in arms sales.
Saudi Arabia requested 48 of the fighter jets with conventional takeoff and landing, plus 49 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines, the State Department statement said.
“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 department added.
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During the first Trump administration, the US advanced plans to sell F-35s to the United Arab Emirates. But the deal ultimately fell apart during the Biden administration over concerns about military cooperation between the UAE and China. Analysts say the same concerns exist with Saudia Arabia and China, but the Trump administration has moved forward with the sale regardless.
The news comes just days after Saudi oil facilities and military bases came under attack by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen in an escalation that threatens to widen the region’s conflicts.
The Saudi-Houthi conflict, which flared up again in July, has seen Houthi drones and missiles attack the kingdom’s oil complexes, disrupting operations and threatening supply routes amid concerns about oil prices.
The Saudi-led grouping that has been fighting the Houthis during Yemen’s decade-long civil war has said it will “resolutely confront (the Houthis’) hostile approach,” with Saudi diplomats recently seeking Washington’s backing to push back, according to a source familiar with Saudi thinking, as CNN reported earlier this month.
Last week, the Houthis made a rapid advancement on coastal assets along the Red Sea that are key to shipping, with Yemeni generals pleading for backup air support from their ally Saudi Arabia, which was nowhere to be seen, a senior Yemeni source attached to their military forces told CNN.
Iran’s effective control of the Strait of Hormuz and its tightening grip on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait now threaten to push oil prices even higher, weeks before November’s midterm elections in the United States.
The State Department said Thursday the proposed sale would improve the kingdom’s “capability to deter current and future threats” and “enhance its air-to-air, and air-to-ground self-defense capability.”
Saudi Arabia has long been interested in Lockheed Martin’s fighter, making a direct appeal for the jets in early 2025 to Trump, who has made arms sales to Saudi Arabia a top priority while in office.
In 2025, the US approved an arms package worth nearly $142 billion for the kingdom, which the White House described as “the largest defense cooperation agreement” in its history, according to Reuters.
The F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, developed by Lockheed at the request of the US military, is considered the world’s most advanced fighter jet because of its advantages against adversaries. It is also the most expensive weapons program in US history, as CNN has reported.
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