President Donald Trump said on Monday he plans to approve the sale of US-made F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, speaking a day before he hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for a day of diplomacy.
"I will say that we will be doing that," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We'll be selling the F-35s."
A sale would mark a significant policy shift, potentially altering the military balance in the Middle East and testing Washington's definition of maintaining Israel's "qualitative military edge."
Saudi Arabia has requested to buy as many as 48 F-35 fighters, a potential multibillion-dollar deal that has cleared a key Pentagon hurdle ahead of bin Salman's visit, Reuters reported early this month.
The Saudis have long been interested in Lockheed Martin's fighter. A senior White House official told Reuters before Trump spoke that the president wanted to talk to the crown prince about the jets, "then we'll make a determination."
Saudi Arabia, the largest customer for U.S. arms, has sought the fighter for years as it looks to modernize its air force and counter regional threats, particularly from Iran. The kingdom's renewed push for what would constitute two squadrons comes as the Trump administration has signaled openness to deepening defense cooperation with Riyadh. The Saudi Air Force flies a mix of fighter aircraft including Boeing F-15s, European Tornados and Typhoons.
Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal to buy the jets earlier this year to Trump.
The Pentagon's policy department worked on the potential transaction for months, U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity had previously told Reuters.
Washington weighs weapons sales to the Middle East in a way that ensures Israel maintains a "qualitative military edge". This guarantees that Israel gets more advanced U.S. weapons than regional Arab states.
The F-35, built with stealth technology that allows it to evade enemy detection, is considered the world's most advanced fighter jet. Israel has operated the aircraft for nearly a decade, building multiple squadrons, and remains the only Middle Eastern country to possess the weapons system.
The F-35 issue has also been intertwined with broader diplomatic efforts. The Biden administration previously explored providing F-35s to Saudi Arabia as part of a comprehensive deal that would have included Riyadh normalizing relations with Israel, though those efforts ultimately stalled.
Congressional scrutiny could pose challenges to any F-35 sale. Lawmakers previously questioned arms deals with Riyadh following the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and some members of Congress remain wary of deepening military cooperation with the kingdom.