The United States is considering a request from Saudi Arabia to purchase up to 48 Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, a potential multi-billion-dollar deal that could reshape the military balance in the Middle East. The potential deal, first reported by Reuters, comes as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman prepares to visit Washington and as discussions to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel quietly resume.
According to Reuters, the Trump administration has allowed the Saudi request to clear a key Pentagon hurdle, moving the proposal to the secretary level within the Defense Department. No final decision has been made, and the sale would still require approval from President Trump, additional Cabinet-level reviews, and formal notification of Congress. The proposed deal would provide the kingdom with two full squadrons of the stealth fighters.
If completed, the sale would make Saudi Arabia the first Arab nation to operate the F-35 — a fifth-generation fighter regarded as the most advanced combat aircraft in service anywhere in the world. Israel is currently the only Middle Eastern country flying the jet. Its fleet of F-35I “Adir” variants has been operational since 2016, giving the Israeli Air Force a decisive technological edge over regional adversaries.
That technological advantage lies at the heart of a long-standing US policy known as Israel’s “qualitative military edge,” which requires Washington to ensure that Israel maintains superior capabilities over its neighbors. Any move to sell F-35s to Arab states is therefore politically sensitive and has been repeatedly delayed or blocked for decades.
The Trump administration has signaled a willingness to revisit some of those restrictions as part of broader diplomatic efforts in the region. In 2020, following the Abraham Accords that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states, the US agreed in principle to sell up to 50 F-35s to the United Arab Emirates. The proposed deal, valued at around $23 billion, was later frozen by the Biden administration in early 2021. Officials in Washington raised concerns about the UAE’s use of Chinese Huawei 5G networks and about the potential exposure of sensitive US technology. Those talks have not resumed.
Other Gulf nations — including Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman — have shown interest in the F-35 but have never received approval. Qatar’s 2020 request for the fighter was quietly denied. Most Gulf air forces continue to rely on F-15s, F-16s, or Eurofighter Typhoons for their front-line missions.
Saudi Arabia has long sought access to the F-35 as part of its broader Vision 2030 modernization program, which aims to diversify the kingdom’s economy and strengthen domestic defense production. The Royal Saudi Air Force already operates F-15s and Typhoons but views the stealth jet as a critical asset to counter emerging threats, especially from Iran.
The timing of the renewed F-35 discussions appears tied to diplomatic progress between Riyadh and Jerusalem. The Reuters report noted that the potential sale could form part of a larger agreement to normalize Saudi-Israeli relations, echoing the model of the Abraham Accords. Those efforts stalled after Hamas’s attack on Israel in 2023 and the subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza but have reportedly regained momentum amid a ceasefire and shifting regional priorities.
Congress is expected to closely scrutinize any proposed sale. Many lawmakers remain wary of expanding arms transfers to Riyadh following the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and ongoing human-rights concerns. Still, Trump has prioritized deepening defense cooperation with Saudi Arabia since returning to office. In May 2025, the administration announced a $142 billion arms package that it described as the largest U.S.-Saudi defense agreement ever signed.
Lockheed Martin has not commented on the potential sale, and the White House and State Department have not issued public statements.
