The U.S. State Department has approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, along with 49 engines and related support equipment. If completed, the deal would make Riyadh the first Arab country to operate the aircraft.
According to the source, Donald Trump first announced the sale in November 2025, ahead of hosting Mohammed bin Salman at the White House. Congress now has 30 days to object, but stopping the sale would require a veto-proof two-thirds majority in both chambers.
The move has also raised political and security concerns. In Washington, there are lingering questions over whether Saudi Arabia’s military ties with Beijing could create risks for safeguarding F-35 technology. Israel, currently the only operator of the jet in the Middle East, has also objected to the prospect of losing its edge.
In a separate notification, the administration told Congress about a $2.8 billion arms sale to Israel. The package includes 40,000 heavy bombs, among them 20,000 Mk84s and 20,000 BLU-117s. The source notes these are the same munitions that the Biden administration paused two years ago over concerns about mass casualties in Gaza.
The report also highlights a key difference in how the two deals are financed. Saudi Arabia is paying with its own funds, while most of Israel’s purchase is backed by U.S. taxpayer money through the Foreign Military Financing program. Under a 10-year agreement running through 2028, Congress allocates $3.3 billion a year to Israel in Foreign Military Financing, plus another $500 million for missile defense.
That support is structured as a grant and does not have to be repaid, but the money cannot be spent freely: it is earmarked for the purchase of American weapons through the U.S. government’s Foreign Military Sales system or direct contracts with U.S. defense companies. In practice, that means the funds flow back to the U.S. defense industry, including contractors such as General Dynamics and Boeing.
The source adds that the latest package follows a $6.67 billion program approved in January and a $3 billion sale last year that bypassed the normal congressional review process.
