WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- The U.S. State Department has approved a potential $24.3 billion sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, covering 48 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II aircraft and 49 Pratt & Whitney engines, as Riyadh intensifies its military campaign against Yemen. The deal, notified to Congress on Thursday, still requires a 30-day congressional review.
The proposed sale would also include communications equipment, electronic-warfare systems, spare parts, training, simulators, software and logistical support. 
It follows a broader expansion of U.S.-Saudi military ties, including an arms package worth nearly $142 billion agreed in 2025 that the White House described as “the largest military cooperation agreement in U.S. history.”
Saudi Arabia welcomed the move. Its embassy in Washington said the proposed sale “reflects the strength and enduring nature of the Saudi-U.S. strategic partnership and the continued advancement of our defense cooperation.”
Israel has flown the F-35 aircraft for about a decade and remains the only operator in West Asia. The sale would make Riyadh the first Arab user of the jet.
Israel is expected to seek “compensation” from Washington in the form of weapons systems the U.S. has so far declined to sell to Tel Aviv, Walla reported on Friday. A source familiar with the matter said the Israeli military would prefer no other country in West Asia receive the F-35, to preserve Israel’s delusionally perceived qualitative military edge.
Using the deal as leverage, Tel Aviv intends to ask Washington to allow it to participate in the development and production of classified U.S. weapons systems, including space-based weapons, according to the report. 
Israel will also seek participation in producing missile interceptors for the Arrow 4 and Arrow 5 systems, and access to advanced munitions including bunker-busting weapons, autonomous strike systems and UAV swarms.
Israel may additionally seek funding for a third F-15 squadron and additional F-35 squadrons. 
Even if signed soon, Saudi Arabia would receive its first F-35s only in five years and without all the enhancements Israel has for its fleet, U.S. officials told Middle East Eye. 
U.S. Representative Rashida Tlaib denounced the Trump administration’s latest arms package to Saudi Arabia as a continuation of more than a decade of U.S.-backed bombing, blockade and starvation against the Yemeni people.
The proposed sale, notified to Congress earlier this month, includes more than 10,000 Joint Direct Attack Munition guidance kits and matching bomb bodies, among them 5,000 of the 2,000-pound BLU-117 munitions. Boeing is listed as principal contractor.
The F-35’s reputation has also been dented after Iran’s successful strike on one of the aircraft on March 19, which the United States acknowledged only last week, reportedly forcing some parties to reconsider purchases of the jet, priced at over $100 million per unit.
The sale is expected to face strong opposition in Congress, where lawmakers have previously scrutinized major arms deals with Riyadh, particularly following the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.