- He said “we’ll be selling the F-35s” during Oval Office remarks.
- Sale marks major policy shift, could test Israel’s military edge.
- KSA wants up to 48 jets in Pentagon-cleared multibillion-dollar deal.
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 (MBS) 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 the purchase of as many as 48 F-35 fighter jets, 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.”
This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.
