WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The Trump administration approved a potential $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighters to Saudi Arabia.
- The package includes 49 Pratt & Whitney engines and other parts for the advanced aircraft.
- The proposal comes as Houthis intensify attacks and seek control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
- Congress has 30 days to review or attempt to block the proposed sale.
President Donald Trump’s administration has approved the potential sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, advancing a package valued at $24.3 billion as the kingdom confronts intensifying attacks from the Houthis backed by Iran in Yemen.
The package, announced Thursday, would deliver nearly 50 of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 warplanes to Riyadh.
The proposed sale also includes 49 Pratt & Whitney engines and other parts needed for the advanced aircraft.
The State Department presented the package as serving both American security priorities and the stability of a key Gulf partner.
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The agency laid out its case in a statement accompanying the announcement.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region,” the State Department said.
The proposal comes as the Houthis have recently increased attacks against targets inside Saudi Arabia.
The group has also launched a lightning ground offensive aimed at exercising control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
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That strait is described as a strategically vital oil choke point, adding urgency to the security situation facing Riyadh.
The escalating Houthi campaign provides the immediate backdrop for the Trump administration’s decision to advance the potential fighter sale.
The administration said the proposed package would improve Saudi Arabia’s ability to deter both current and future threats.
At the same time, officials said the transaction would “not alter the military balance in the region.”
That assurance refers to the longstanding American policy that Israel must retain a military advantage over potential rivals in the Middle East. The administration’s position is that Saudi Arabia can receive the aircraft without disturbing that regional balance.
The proposal is not yet beyond congressional scrutiny. Congress has 30 days to examine the package or attempt to block it, and some lawmakers have already voiced concerns about sensitive American military technology.
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., argued that the United States should not proceed at a time “when our own intelligence community is warning that it could put the crown jewels of American military technology within reach of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Krishnamoorthi expanded on that warning in a statement posted on social media. “We must not sell our most advanced fighter jet anywhere the CCP may be able to get its hands on the technology inside it.”
Congress has previously questioned proposed arms deals involving Riyadh. Those questions followed the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Kohsoggi, who was a prominent critic of the kingdom.
The current package also follows a broader set of economic and military agreements between Washington and Riyadh.
In May last year, Trump praised Saudi Arabia and its leaders after the White House announced the kingdom had committed to investing $600 billion through a series of agreements with the United States.
Among those agreements was a defense sales package valued at nearly $142 billion.
The White House said at the time that the arrangement would provide “state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen U.S. defense firms.”
Trump has a close relationship with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The president welcomed the crown prince to the White House in November, after the earlier announcement of the kingdom’s investment commitment and defense purchases.
The newly announced F-35 proposal now moves into the congressional review period while the Houthis intensify their campaign against Saudi targets.
If completed, the package would provide Riyadh with 48 advanced fighters, 49 engines, and additional parts under a sale valued at $24.3 billion.
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