For years, Saudi Arabia, a longstanding ally of the United States, has been eager to purchase the fifth-generation, stealthy F-35 Lightning II fighter plane. However, according to reports, the kingdom is searching for a substitute since the Pentagon is taking its time. Days after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) made a similar request, Saudi Arabia formally expressed interest in acquiring F-35 stealth aircraft in 2017 to strengthen its air power in the face of changing security threats from rogue states and non-state actors in the Persian Gulf. Although elite support for Saudi Arabia has been strained in recent years due to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and the Saudis’ murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, whose children are U.S. citizens, the US-Saudi alliance has long been an unquestioned priority of the Washington foreign policy community.
F-35 replacement on Saudi radar
However, acquiring the stealthy US combat aircraft has presented the wealthy kingdom with some challenges. For starters, Saudi Arabia has been charged with committing several human rights abuses and killing civilians as a result of its involvement in the civil conflict in Yemen. Additionally, Riyadh’s growing military collaboration with China has alarmed the US. The Pentagon is extremely protective of the F-35 platform and continues to exercise caution in case its critical technology is compromised. However, even by American presidential norms, Donald Trump has maintained an extraordinarily close relationship with Saudi Arabia while keeping his financial relationship with the Saudi government a secret from the public. It’s also important to note that although American foreign policy elites have long held a strong affinity with Saudi Arabia, the American populace strongly disagrees with this stance.
Saudi looks beyond American fighters
But the United States’ commitment to Israel is the largest obstacle to Saudi Arabia acquiring the F-35. A long-standing agreement between the US and Israel stipulates that US military hardware given to Israel must be “superior in capability” in comparison to that sold to Israel’s neighbors. This indicates that Israel’s “qualitative military edge” cannot be threatened by US arms sales to the Middle East. The only F-35 operator in the Middle East at the moment is Israel. According to the most current Gallup poll, conducted in February 2019, only 4% of Americans have a “very favorable” opinion of Saudi Arabia, while 25% have a “somewhat favorable” opinion. Those figures are worse than those of Cuba or Venezuela. According to a YouGov survey conducted in the fall of 2018, just a small percentage of Americans view Saudi Arabia as favorable toward the United States, and more view the country as an enemy than an ally.
Non-American stealth fighters for Saudi Arabia
When the White House declared in May 2024 that the two sides were negotiating a bilateral defense treaty, there was hope that a possible deal for the F-35 would once again be on the table. Pentagon officials stated that it was crucial to talk about the F-35s because Riyadh has long desired the stealthy fighter plane, but they did not promise a deal. Over six months later, the Saudi Kingdom has begun searching for other options to bolster its fleet as the Pentagon continues to delay the possible delivery of the F-35. A more direct ally-or-not question was addressed in a September 2019 poll, which revealed that 22% of people believe Saudi Arabia is an ally. The American government does not view it this way. Furthermore, neither the Trump administration nor Iran hawks in general view it that way. However, in a democracy, it is difficult to explain that actions are being taken in support of an alliance that the public does not support.
Saudi to join ranks of non-US stealth buyers
New sources suggest that the Saudi kingdom may be considering investing in a stealthy, fifth-generation combat aircraft, despite military analysts’ long-held predictions that it would go for a 4+ generation aircraft, such as the French Dassault Rafale or the Eurofighter Typhoon. Since the Obama administration reached a diplomatic agreement that stopped Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, a war with Iran shouldn’t be required to stop that from happening. From the perspective of nuclear weapons experts, the agreement was a wonderful bargain that effectively addressed the possibility of Iranian nuclear weapons capacity. That was something that both the American public and the Obama administration were very concerned about. The worst side of Saudi Arabia is its human rights violations and misbehavior with other countries. It can make an impact as the worst side of it.