{"id":620277,"date":"2026-09-18T19:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T19:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/620277\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T19:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T19:04:16","slug":"state-department-approves-24-3b-f-35-fighter-jet-sale-to-saudi-arabia-despite-china-tech-theft-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/620277\/","title":{"rendered":"State Department approves $24.3B F-35 fighter jet sale to Saudi Arabia despite China tech theft concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

The State Department has approved a potential $24.3 billion sale to Saudi Arabia<\/a> for 48 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter jet and related equipment, the agency said in a news release, as the critical U.S. ally confronts a new front in the war with Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia has long pursued the F-35\u2019<\/a>s but to date Israel has been the only country in the Middle East to secure access to Lockheed Martin\u2019s fighter jet considered the most lethal, stealthy and survivable aircraft in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the military balance in the region,\u201d the State Department said in a press release. <\/p>\n

00:37<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia accuses Houthis of targeting Mecca<\/p>\n

00:0000:00<\/p>\n

Congress was officially notified Thursday of the possible transfer of the advanced military aircraft to Saudi Arabia and some lawmakers have already raised concerns that the technology behind it could be acquired or stolen by China, which has a military partnership with the kingdom.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trump Administration should not move forward with its proposed sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia 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,\u201d Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said in a social media post<\/a>. \u201cBeijing has spent decades stealing American intellectual property and technology to close the gap with the United States, and we must not help them do it. We must not sell our most advanced fighter jet anywhere the CCP may be able to get its hands on the technology inside it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, The New York Times <\/a>cited U.S. officials as saying that intelligence analysts had raised the possibility that China could get F-35 technology by spying in Saudi Arabia or through its partnership with the kingdom.<\/p>\n

Previous arms sales to Saudi Arabia, including one for $110 billion proposed by the Trump administration during President Donald Trump\u2019s first term, also faced scrutiny by Congress after the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,<\/a> a columnist for the Washington Post.<\/p>\n

In his second term, the Trump administration prioritized weapons sales<\/a> to the Kingdom as the largest recipient<\/a> of U.S. arms. The approval of F-35 shipment follows Saudi Arabia\u2019s agreement to purchase $142 billion in military equipment and services from the U.S. during Trump\u2019s May 2025 trip to Riyadh \u2014 the largest defense sales package in history.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump has made clear that Saudi Arabia is an anchor for regional security, and increased capabilities for the Saudi armed forces benefits the security of the United States and the wider region,\u201d a State Department Spokesperson said. \u201cThe sale strengthens the U.S. defense industrial base and ensures Saudi Arabia continues to buy American.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"PresidentPresident Donald Trump and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.Andrew Harnik \/ Getty Images file<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia has been fighting to turn back the advancements of the Iran backed Yemen rebel group the Houthis who have been launching drone and missile strikes into the Kingdom as they work to secure a critical shipping route in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has urged Trump to take military action against the Houthis, NBC News previously reported<\/a>, but so far, the U.S. has declined to join in military strikes.<\/p>\n

The State Department declined to provide a timeline for a possible shipment of the military aircraft but a spokesperson said the U.S. is committed to \u201cfurther strengthening the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia\u2019s capabilities to deter regional threats, protect its borders, and contribute to regional stability.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe proposed F-35 sale reflects the strength and enduring nature of the Saudi-U.S. strategic partnership and the continued advancement of our defense cooperation,\u201d the Saudi Embassy in Washington said in a social media post<\/a>. \u201cFor decades, Saudi-U.S. security cooperation has contributed to regional stability, strengthened our collective defense capabilities, and advanced our shared security interests.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The State Department has approved a potential $24.3 billion sale to Saudi Arabia for 48 F-35 Lightning II…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":620278,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-620277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=620277"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/620277\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/620278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=620277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=620277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=620277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}