F-35 Fighter Jet Deal: Saudi Arabia Welcomes Proposed Agreement
Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Washington welcomed the proposed US sale of F-35 fighter jets to the Kingdom, calling it another marker of the strength and enduring nature of the Saudi-US strategic partnership and its continued defense cooperation. In a post on X, the embassy said decades of security cooperation between the two countries have contributed to regional stability, strengthened shared defense capabilities and advanced common security interests.
The statement followed the US State Department’s approval of a possible 24.3 billion dollar Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia covering 48 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. The proposed package, which still requires congressional approval, includes 49 Pratt & Whitney engines, secure communications and precision-navigation equipment, cryptographic systems, electronic-warfare support gear, spare parts, training systems, simulators, software, technical documentation and logistics support.
According to the State Department, the sale is intended to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s ability to deter current and future threats, bolster homeland defense, and improve coordination with US, regional and NATO forces, while expanding the Kingdom’s operational fleet and its air-to-air and air-to-ground defensive capabilities. The department said the deal would not shift the region’s military balance or affect US defense readiness.
Saudi Arabia has pursued the F-35 for years as part of a broader effort to modernize its air force and strengthen its position amid rising regional tensions. The Kingdom currently flies a mixed fleet that includes Boeing F-15s alongside European-built Tornado and Eurofighter Typhoon jets; the F-35 would mark the introduction of fifth-generation stealth capability into the Royal Saudi Air Force. Saudi Arabia has specifically requested the F-35A variant, the conventional takeoff-and-landing model, distinct from the short-takeoff F-35B and carrier-based F-35C flown by other operators.
The F-35 program already includes 20 participating nations, according to Lockheed Martin, with more than 1,355 aircraft delivered and over a million flight hours logged. Current operators span the US, UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, several other NATO members, and, in the Middle East, Israel, which remains the only regional operator so far. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Pratt & Whitney Military Engines would serve as the principal contractors on the Saudi deal, and the State Department said it isn’t aware of any offset agreement tied to the sale at this stage, though any such arrangement would be negotiated separately between Saudi Arabia and the contractors.
The proposal builds on a broader expansion of US-Saudi defense ties under the Trump administration, following a nearly 142 billion dollar arms package agreed in 2025 that the White House described as the largest defense cooperation agreement in US history. For now, the F-35 announcement represents only an approved possible sale, not a finalized purchase or delivery, and remains subject to the standard US arms-sales process and congressional review.
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