Donald Trump has committed to selling F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia in a surprise announcement, just hours before he rolls out the red carpet for the country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The US president told reporters on Monday that the US “will be selling” the advanced supersonic stealth fighter jets to the Kingdom, who he described as a “great ally” who wants “to buy them”.
Sales of F-35 jets to Saudi would mark a major US policy shift, while also having a significant impact on the balance of military power in the Middle East, particularly in an era of high tensions between Israel – the only country in the region to currently own F-35s – and its neighbours.
The Saudi government has requested to buy 48 of the jets, which are produced by Lockheed Martin, despite concerns from the Pentagon that giving Riyadh access to the jets could lead to China being given access to their advanced and sensitive stealth technology.
It has set the stage for what is likely to be a warm welcome for bin Salman, referred to widely as MBS, as he flies to the US for the first time since the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in Istanbul, which prompted outrage worldwide. US intelligence concluded that MBS approved his capture or killing.
Relations with the US have improved in the past seven years since Mr Khashoggi’s murder. While MBS has accepted responsibility for the killing “because it happened under my watch”, he has insisted that he did not order it.
Trump will sit down with the Saudi ruler, who is the son of 89-year-old King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud but is widely considered the country’s de facto leader, for a full day of White House diplomacy.
The pair will hold talks in the Oval Office, before eating lunch in the Cabinet Room and attending a formal black-tie dinner in the evening.
The US president will look to finalise a Saudi investment pledge of $600 billion dollars, described as ”historic and transformative” by the White House, which said the deal would “strengthen our energy security, defence industry, technology leadership, and access to global infrastructure”.
Trump will likely pressure MBS for Saudi to join the Abraham Accords and normalise relations with Israel, after the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October, 2023 and Israel’s subsequent two-year-long invasion and bombardment in Gaza heavily set the process back.
Riyadh have been reluctant to take such a major step without a clear path to Palestinian statehood. Trump reached the agreements between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan during his first term in 2020.
MBS is also believed to be looking for security guarantees for Saudi Arabia, access to artificial intelligence technology, and progress on a deal on a civil nuclear programme.
A senior White House official told the Reuters news agency that the Saudis would be “spending a lot of money tomorrow on the US”.
