The State Department has greenlit a potential sale of 48 advanced stealth fighters to Riyadh, with a message to Jerusalem: The military balance in the Middle East will not change.
The State Department announced Thursday that it has approved a potential sale of 48 F-35 stealth fighters to Saudi Arabia, in a deal valued at approximately $24.3 billion.
According to the American announcement, the transaction remains subject to Congressional approval. The statement also emphasized that "the military balance in the Middle East will not change", a message directed primarily at Israel.
The approval comes just one day after the New York Times reported concerns within the American defense establishment regarding the possible sale. According to that report, intelligence officials warned that selling the advanced F-35 to Saudi Arabia could create an opening through which China might gain access to classified American military technologies.
The report further revealed that the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has prepared a detailed assessment in recent months examining the risks involved in the deal. Among the issues examined were Chinese military personnel's access to Saudi bases and the presence of Chinese technology in the kingdom's communications infrastructure. The central concern revolves around the ability to protect the stealth aircraft's sensitive systems over time.
The intelligence report raised the question of whether the United States and Saudi Arabia could ensure that only authorized American and Saudi personnel would be exposed to sites where F-35 technology would be maintained. Particular attention was given to the aircraft's advanced radar and intelligence systems. American intelligence also raised questions regarding equipment from Chinese technology companies Huawei and ZTE found in Saudi infrastructure, and whether Riyadh would be willing to remove such equipment from networks and facilities connected to sensitive defense systems.
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