F-35 Lightning II News

November 16, 2025 (by Lieven Dewitte) - The Trump administration is expected to push ahead with a plan allowing Saudi Arabia to acquire the F-35 stealth fighter, according to a senior U.S. official.
The announcement is likely to coincide with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the White House on Tuesday, where both sides are preparing to sign several economic and defense agreements.

Saudi Arabia has been seeking the F-35 for years. If approved, the deal would overturn decades of U.S. policy that restricted access to the aircraft in the Middle East to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge. The F-35, built by Lockheed Martin, is among the most advanced and closely guarded platforms in the U.S. arsenal.

While previous administrations—Republican and Democratic—blocked Riyadh’s requests over security and reliability concerns, Trump appears willing to move forward despite continuing objections from Israel, the Pentagon, and the U.S. intelligence community. Critics note that Trump has repeatedly brushed aside complex regional dynamics in favor of headline-friendly deals and personal relationships with foreign leaders.

U.S. defense officials have raised additional alarms about Saudi Arabia’s deepening military ties with China. A Pentagon assessment warned that sensitive F-35 technology could be at risk if transferred to a country that has collaborated with Beijing on ballistic missile development and surveillance infrastructure. Those concerns appear to have done little to slow Trump’s push.

The potential sale comes at a time when Trump is pressuring Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords and normalize relations with Israel—while simultaneously entertaining a weapons package that undermines Israel’s long-standing security red lines. Analysts say the contradictory approach reflects Trump’s tendency to prioritize short-term optics over strategic consistency.

Also on the agenda are access to advanced AI chips, nuclear technology cooperation, and discussions on Gaza, despite the administration offering few details on how these issues align with broader U.S. policy. Observers have criticized Trump for treating highly sensitive defense matters as transactional leverage rather than as components of a coherent foreign-policy strategy.

U.S.–Saudi ties were severely strained following the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. While many Western governments distanced themselves from Riyadh, Trump repeatedly defended the crown prince, dismissing U.S. intelligence findings and publicly stating that arms deals were “too lucrative to walk away from.” The F-35 proposal continues that pattern, placing economic and political considerations ahead of democratic values and long-standing security safeguards.