Washington / PNN /
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday evening that the United States “will proceed with selling F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia,” praising the American “partnership” with Riyadh.
This came during Trump’s remarks to reporters at the White House on the eve of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington.
The U.S. president told reporters at the White House, “We’re going to do it — we will sell the F-35s. They (the Saudis) have been a great ally.”
Israeli entities have expressed growing concern over the potential loss of Israel’s “air superiority” in the region following Trump’s move to advance the F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia.
Israel’s Channel 12 noted that Tel Aviv’s ability to block the deal is limited.
The Israeli army, in a professional document submitted to the political leadership, warned against the sale of the jets to Saudi Arabia, stressing that the move could undermine the air superiority on which the Israeli Air Force relies in its regional operations.
According to a report by the Israeli website Ynet, the document included an explicit position from the Air Force warning that additional Middle Eastern states acquiring the same aircraft model would erode what security agencies consider Israel’s “qualitative edge.”
The document states that the success of Israeli missions carried out in the “third circle” relies on maintaining exclusive regional possession of this aircraft type and its ability to operate covertly at long range.
Military assessments also indicated that a deal of this scale could consume U.S. aircraft production lines, potentially delaying future deliveries to Israel — a point the army views as an additional short-term concern.
In contrast, some Israeli circles downplayed the significance of the deal, noting that a similar agreement made with the UAE in 2020 has still not been implemented.
They pointed out that even if the Saudi deal is completed, it would take at least six years before the first jet arrives in Riyadh.
The United States would also retain a high degree of control over the jets supplied to Saudi Arabia, including restrictions on their use.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is set to visit the White House on Tuesday for talks with Trump aimed at strengthening cooperation and expanding ties in trade, technology, and potentially nuclear energy.
This will be the crown prince’s first visit to Washington since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul.
Trump seeks to capitalize on the Saudi pledge of $600 billion in investments announced during his visit to Riyadh in May.
For his part, bin Salman aims to secure security guarantees, access to artificial intelligence technologies, and progress toward an agreement on a civilian nuclear program.
