US mulls F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia amid Israel normalisation talks
November 5, 2025
Saudi Arabia is reportedly inching closer to being the first Arab country to purchase the F-35. This could be part of normalisation with Israel, as the US is obligated to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge.
US reportedly considering selling F-35s to Saudi Arabia
According to a Reuters report citing two unnamed sources, the Trump Administration is currently considering Saudi Arabia’s request to purchase up to 48 F-35 fighter jets. The article stated that the potential deal has already cleared a “key Pentagon hurdle ahead of a visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”
Saudi Arabia has long been interested in acquiring the highly sought-after F-35, which is regarded as the most advanced and capable fighter jet in the world. Reuters added that Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal earlier this year to Trump. 48 jets are enough to constitute two squadrons.
No final decision has yet been made, and more steps will need to be taken before the deal is formally green-lit. It will need a sign-off from Trump, more approvals at the Cabinet level, and notification of Congress.
If Saudi Arabia does purchase these jets, they will join a fleet made up of Eurofighter Typhoons, F-15s, and ageing Tornados.
The sensitive issue of Israel
The sale of F-35s to Middle Eastern states is a very thorny issue with Israel. Israel is known to have lobbied against previous sales of the jets to countries in the region, while the US is bound by its own law to maintain Israel’s “qualitative military edge”.
The United States-Israel Enhanced Security Cooperation Act of 2012 states it is the policy of the United States “to help the Government of Israel preserve its qualitative military edge…”
This is part of the reason why the US has previously refused to sell the fighter jets to other Middle Eastern countries. That said, there have been other issues like Turkey purchasing the Russian S-400 air defence system and the UAE purchasing Chinese Huawei 5G networks.
At one point, the US even threatened not to base its F-35s in the United Kingdom if it didn’t ban Chinese Huawei networks. The UK has joined a cohort of Western countries (including India) in banning Huawei’s networks.
The United States remains coy about who it sells the jet to, particularly when it comes to countries outside of NATO (or close allies like Japan, Israel, and Australia). The UAE has previously complained about “onerous” conditions that come with these sales, while Israeli pilots with foreign passports have also been reportedly banned by the US from flying them.
President Trump tells 60 Minutes he expects Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords, the historic agreement struck during Trump’s first term that normalized relations between Israel and some Arab states. https://t.co/TRsDeMB40v pic.twitter.com/dhS04Vcdyg
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) November 3, 2025
But there may be another angle with the jet sale and Israel. Saudi Arabia is known to have been working to normalise relations with Israel. This was interrupted on the 7th of October 2023 with Hamas’ massacre of Israeli civilians and the gruelling Israeli invasion of Gaza that followed.
With there now ostensibly a ceasefire and cessation of Israel’s Gaza invasion, the fighter jets could be part of a comprehensive deal to normalise relations. This is something similar to what happened with the UAE and the Abraham Accords, although the fighter jet sale later fell through.
Trump is known to be willing to sell the F-35
While some in Washington want to be selective of the F-35’s export sales to minimise the risks of its sensitive tech falling into Chinese and Russian hands, Trump has consistently seen the F-35 as a commodity to be sold and traded.
Perhaps most surprisingly, he offered the jet to India in early 2025. India publicly declined the jet, but it’s unclear how the US would sell the F-35 to India, which operates Russian S-400s and Russian fighter jets. Turkey was kicked out of the program for purchasing S-400s, and it has been trying to be readmitted ever since.
In his first term, Trump announced deals to sell 20 F-35s to Egypt and 50 to the UAE. These deals later collapsed or got frozen. That said, the Biden Administration also explored selling F-35s to Saudi Arabia as part of normalising relations with Israel.
On the other hand, Morocco appears to be receiving top-tier military hardware from the U.S. and Israel, with both nations meeting nearly all its requests. Now, reports suggest the U.S. may even greenlight the sale of F-35 fifth-gen fighter jets to the North African country. https://t.co/sDwHvJfSXf pic.twitter.com/SUbXFSktLy
— Egypt's Intel Observer (@EGYOSINT) June 3, 2025
Other countries known to have wanted to purchase the F-35, only to be rebuffed by the US, include Qatar, Thailand, Indonesia, and Taiwan. Separately, Morocco is reported by Military Africa to be in negotiations to purchase the F-35 as it faces rival Algeria purchasing Russian Su-30/35, Su-34, and Su-57 aircraft.
Featured Image: United States Air Force
