The Trump administration approved a proposed arms sale valued at $24.3 billion featuring 48 of Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jets, along with 49 Pratt & Whitney engines and additional equipment. As the State Department put it, "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 timing is no accident. Iran-backed Houthis have stepped up strikes on targets inside Saudi Arabia and launched a rapid ground push to assert control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial chokepoint for global oil shipments.
The Trump administration says the package would sharpen Riyadh's ability to deter both current and future threats and would "not alter the military balance in the region" - a nod to the long-running U.S. principle that Israel should retain a qualitative military edge over potential adversaries.
Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., warned the sale "could put the crown jewels of American military technology within reach of the Chinese Communist Party," adding, "We must not sell our most advanced fighter jet anywhere the CCP may be able to get its hands on the technology inside it." Skepticism about arming Riyadh has persisted since Jamal Kohsoggi, a Saudi journalist, was killed in 2018.
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This push follows a string of high-dollar ties. In May last year, Trump praised Saudi Arabia after the White House said the kingdom committed $600 billion across a slate of U.S. deals. That included nearly $142 billion in defense sales the White House said would deliver "state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen U.S. defense firms." The rapport has been personal too: Trump has a close relationship with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman and welcomed him to the White House in November. On November 18, 2025, the two met in the Oval Office to discuss deepening economic and defense cooperation, with the prospective F-35 sale included.
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