US officials raise concerns about Saudi Arabia's bid for F-35 jets

As the Trump administration tries to finalise a deal to sell advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, a Pentagon intelligence report has raised concerns that China could acquire the warplane's technology if the sales go through, according to people familiar with the assessment.

Pentagon officials who have studied the deal have expressed fears that F-35 technology could be compromised through Chinese espionage or China's security partnership with Saudi Arabia, said the people, who have been briefed on the issues. Those risks were outlined in a broad report compiled by the Defense Intelligence Agency, a part of the Defense Department.

The Trump administration and Saudi Arabia have been trying to work out the final elements of an agreement in which US weapons manufacturers would sell 48 F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia for billions of dollars. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was expected to approve the agreement, before it continued through an interagency review process, the people said.


Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, is expected to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday. The top items on the agenda are the potential F-35 deal and a mutual defense agreement, US officials said. Saudi Arabia is the biggest buyer of American weapons.

The Defense Intelligence Agency declined to comment when asked about its report on the F-35 deal. The embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington did not reply to a request for comment.

"We will not get ahead of the president on conversations that are occurring ahead of time," the White House said in a statement.

Crown Prince Mohammed and his aides have also been prodding the United States to move forward on talks to approve helping Saudi Arabia develop a civilian nuclear program, an effort that has prompted US officials to discuss whether the kingdom could use that nuclear technology to try to develop a nuclear weapon.

In addition to the concerns over China acquiring F-35 technology, the proposed sales also raise questions about whether the US government would be compromising Israel's regional military advantage. Israel is the only country in the Middle East that has F-35 jets.