A potential arms deal for the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia by the Trump administration is raising concerns over Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the assessment.
Israel is the only country in the Middle East that currently operates these jets, using them in airstrikes on Iran in October 2024 and June 2025.
Since the 1973 war, US policymakers have worked to ensure that Israel maintains its qualitative military edge, with Congress requiring that the US guarantee Israel can defeat any “credible conventional military threat” while suffering minimal damage and casualties.
Trump’s efforts, similar to those of the Biden administration, to promote normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, face difficulties and are unlikely to materialize soon, due to the high casualty numbers in the Israel-Hamas War and the Israeli government's right-wing policies toward Palestinians.
In addition to concerns about Israel's position, a Pentagon intelligence report raises another danger. The report, prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency, warns that China could acquire the advanced fighter jet technology through espionage or its security partnership with Saudi Arabia, if the sale goes through.
Pentagon officials who reviewed the deal expressed concerns that the F-35 technology could be compromised.
The Trump administration and Saudi Arabia are working to finalize the details of the agreement, which would see US arms manufacturers sell 48 F-35 jets to the kingdom at a cost of billions of dollars.
Saudi crown prince to meet Trump at White House this week
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to meet President Trump at the White House on Tuesday.
According to US officials, the deal on the table includes both the fighter jets and a mutual defense agreement. Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman recently met with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, to “strengthen strategic cooperation.”
The current concerns echo those raised during the F-35 sale to the UAE, which was approved by the first Trump administration in 2020 as part of the Abraham Accords.
The Biden administration paused the deal in early 2021 for further review, mainly over concerns that China might gain access to the jet’s technology. The US set a series of requirements for the UAE, including the installation of “kill switches” that would allow the US to neutralize the jets if necessary. UAE officials saw these conditions as overly burdensome, and the deal fell apart. Now, US officials are discussing similar protective measures for the technology in the Saudi deal.
Military ties between China and Saudi Arabia already exist; the Chinese military is helping Saudi Arabia build and acquire more advanced ballistic missiles. Meanwhile, the Saudi prince and his aides are pressing the US to facilitate talks that would allow Saudi Arabia to develop a civilian nuclear program, raising concerns about the future development of nuclear weapons.
For Saudi Arabia, acquiring the F-35, the US military's top fighter jet, would give its air force significant advantages in stealth and complex battlefield assessment.
According to Gareth Jennings, an aviation editor at the defense intelligence firm Jane's, the aircraft’s capabilities were fully displayed during Israel’s 12-day war against Iran in June. The F-35’s ability to destroy Iranian air defense systems allowed older Israeli planes to “operate over Iran almost unchallenged,” and likely contributed significantly to Israel’s success in the operation.