US approves potential $24 billion sale of F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia

By Laura Sharman, CNN

(CNN) — The Trump administration said Thursday it has approved a potential multi-billion dollar sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, bolstering the Gulf ally’s military capacity amid the threat of an expanding war in the Middle East.

The US State Department announced the proposed sale of the Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft and related equipment, worth an estimated $24.3 billion, according to a State Department statement on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia requested to buy 48 of the fighter jets with conventional takeoff and landing, plus 49 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines, the statement said.

“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 department added.

If production and delivery is completed, Saudi Arabia would become only the second country in the Middle East to operate the advanced stealth fighters alongside Israel – potentially altering the balance of military power across the region, a claim the US government denies.

Under US policy, Washington is required to ensure Israel maintains a “qualitative military edge,” effectively guarantying it gets more advanced US weapons than other regional Arab states.

“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the military balance in the region,” the State Department said.

The administration has given formal notification of the pending sale to Congress, which must now approve the sale.

The news comes just days after Saudi oil facilities and military bases came under attack by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, in an escalation that threatens to widen the region’s conflicts.

The Saudi-Houthi conflict, which flared up again in July, has seen Houthi drones and missiles attack its oil complexes, disrupting operations and threatening supply routes amid concerns about oil prices.

The Saudi-led grouping that has been fighting the Houthis during Yemen’s decade-long civil war has said it will “resolutely confront (the Houthis’) hostile approach,” with Saudi diplomats recently seeking Washington’s backing to push back, according to a source familiar with Saudi thinking, as CNN reported earlier this month.

Last week, the Houthis made a rapid advancement on coastal assets along the Red Sea that are key to shipping, with Yemeni generals pleading for backup air support from their ally Saudi Arabia, who was nowhere to be found, a senior Yemeni source attached to their military forces told CNN.

Iran’s effective control of the Strait of Hormuz plus its tightening grip on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait now threatens to push oil prices even higher, weeks before November’s midterm elections in the United States.

The State Department said Thursday the proposed sale will improve the kingdom’s “capability to deter current and future threats” and “enhance its air-to-air, and air-to-ground self-defense capability.”

Saudi Arabia has long been interested in Lockheed Martin’s fighter, making a direct appeal for the jets in early 2025 to President Donald Trump, who has made arms sales to Saudi Arabia a top priority while in office.

In 2025, the US approved an arms package worth nearly $142 billion for the kingdom, which the White House described as “the largest defense cooperation agreement” in its history, according to Reuters.

The F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, developed by Lockheed at the request of the US military, is considered the world’s most advanced fighter jet because of its advantages against adversaries. It is also the most expensive weapons program in US history, as CNN has reported.

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CNN’s Nic Robertson, Kathleen Magramo, Eyad Kourdi, Oren Liebermann and Zachary B. Wolf contributed reporting.