The Administration Notifies Congress of a $24.3 Billion Sale of 48 F-35s to Saudi Arabia as a House Intelligence Democrat Warns It Could "Put the Crown Jewels of American Military Technology Within Reach of the Chinese Communist Party" and Ed Markey Moves to Block a Separate $5 Billion Saudi Bomb Sale
On September 17, 2026, the State Department formally notified Congress of a proposed $24.3 billion Foreign Military Sale to Saudi Arabia of 48 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II fighters, 49 Pratt & Whitney engines and associated equipment. If completed, Saudi Arabia would be the first Middle Eastern country other than Israel to fly the F-35. The State Department said the sale "will not alter the military balance in the region" and that "President Trump has made clear that Saudi Arabia is an anchor for regional security." Its notification certified that the sale does not erode Israel's legally protected qualitative military edge; reports said Saudi jets could be fitted with a less capable software suite than Israel's. U.S. intelligence analysts have repeatedly warned that the kingdom's ties to Beijing could expose F-35 technology to China through espionage or partnership. The notification lands in the middle of a Saudi-Iran proxy war in Yemen and the U.S. war with Iran, and weeks after Trump sent Congress a civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Riyadh. Congress has 30 days to object. The same week, Sens. Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley and Bernie Sanders introduced a joint resolution of disapproval against a separate $5 billion sale — notified September 4 — of more than 10,000 JDAM guidance kits and 500- and 2,000-pound bombs.
“The United States must not send thousands of conventional weapons to Saudi Arabia or allow it to develop a nuclear program. I am deeply concerned by the Kingdom's human rights abuses, the security of the region as the war in Iran rages on, and the proxy war that is escalating between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Yemen.”