Trump breaks decades of US policy with $24B F-35 jet sale to Saudi Arabia amid China concerns

WASHINGTON, DC: The Trump administration has approved a potential sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia worth $24.3 billion, potentially breaking with decades of US policy on providing the world's most advanced stealth fighter to the Gulf monarchy.

The deal still requires congressional approval.

Washington has historically restricted such a deal in part because the United States guarantees Israel access to the most sophisticated US weapons, while seeking to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge over its regional neighbors.

The State Department notified Congress of the proposed sale this week. Lawmakers have 30 days to review the deal or try to block it.

Trump’s ties with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman

Saudi Arabia has sought for years to buy the world's most advanced warplane, equipped with stealth technology that allows it to evade enemy detection.

The deal marks the latest effort by President Donald Trump to leverage his close personal relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom he hosted at the White House last November.

The two men met again in Riyadh in May of last year, where they finalized a $142 billion arms deal that the White House at the time hailed as the "largest defense sales agreement in history."

The State Department said in announcing the deal that it would support the US: "The proposed ⁠sale of this equipment and support will not alter the military ⁠balance in the region."

It said the deal would improve "the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region."

The latest proposed sale announced to Saudi Arabia would include 48 F-35s, which are built by the arms company Lockheed Martin.

This would bring Saudi Arabia closer to Israel in terms of access to the F-35, although Israel currently remains the only Middle Eastern country operating the aircraft.

Democrats raise China concerns over Saudi F-35 deal

Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, a Democrat, opposed the sale.

He warned "it could put the crown jewels of American military technology within reach of the Chinese Communist Party".

Other Democrats, as well as some US defense officials, have raised similar concerns, highlighting the potential for a Chinese security partnership with Riyadh to provide Beijing with indirect access to highly classified F-35 technology.

The concerns have been reported as part of broader scrutiny of Saudi Arabia’s military and security ties with China.

There was previously an issue in Congress regarding arms sales to Saudi Arabia following the 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi.

The Biden administration also previously considered providing the fighter jets to Saudi Arabia as part of a larger effort to improve US-Saudi ties, but that deal never came to fruition. 

Saudi F-35 deal faces scrutiny over Yemen conflict

The sale comes as Saudi Arabia continues its campaign against the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group that has recently seized swaths of Yemen's Red Sea coast from Saudi-backed government forces.

Two sources familiar with the situation told CBS News that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia has personally lobbied Trump to take direct US military action against the Houthis, a request that Trump has so far refused to fulfill.

This has left Riyadh to continue dealing with the crisis on its own despite its planned acquisition of the United States' most advanced fighter jet.