The Trump administration approved the potential sale of F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Jets and other equipment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
According to the State Department, if the proposed sale goes through, the estimated cost for the weapons and equipment would be $24.3 billion.
Congress would still need to approve the move. Past agreements with Saudi Arabia have been controversial, though, because of Saudi Arabia’s relationship with China, as well as the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi, who criticized Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Riyadh officials.
President Donald Trump last year, when asked about U.S. intelligence findings that bin Salman approved Khashoggi’s murder, defended him.
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Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill. on X said the Trump administration “should not move forward with its proposed sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia when our own intelligence community is warning that it could put the crown jewels of American military technology within reach of the Chinese Communist Party.”
“Beijing has spent decades stealing American intellectual property and technology to close the gap with the United States, and we must not help them do it,” he said. “We must not sell our most advanced fighter jet anywhere the CCP may be able to get its hands on the technology inside it.”
Krishnamoorthi shared a New York Times article in his post in which U.S. officials discussed intelligence officers’ hesitancy about the sale. Intelligence analysts, the officials said, expressed concerns China could get F-35 jet technology through spying or because of its partnership with Saudi Arabia.
The State Department said the sale would support foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States “by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region.”
It was also, the State Department said, to “improve Saudi Arabia’s capability to deter current and future threats by strengthening its homeland defense, and improving interoperability with U.S. forces, and other regional and NATO forces.”
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company and Pratt & Whitney Military Engines would be the primary contractors for the weapons.
This comes amid renewed fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, with the two trading attacks Thursday morning. A recent attack by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels forced Saudi Arabia to shut down its key East-West oil pipeline. The assaults have pushed oil prices above $100.
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