US officials fear China could acquire F-35 technology via Saudi: Report
Iran Press TV
Friday, 14 November 2025 7:10 AM
US officials have reportedly raised concerns that the sale of F-35s to Saudi Arabia could lead to the fighter jets' technology reaching China.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that after studying the US deal to sell F-35 stealth warplanes to Saudi Arabia, Pentagon officials warned that Beijing could gain access to the information, either through espionage or security ties to Riyadh.
Those risks were outlined in an assessment compiled by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, which is a part of the Department of War, the report said.
،he proposed sale could also raise questions about whether the US would be compromising Israel's military edge as the regime is the only possessor of F-35 jets in West Asi, tt further said.
The US and Saudi Arabia have recently been trying to finalize an agreement, in which American weapons manufacturers would sell 48 F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia worth billions of dollars.
This comes ahead of next week's meeting between US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.
In preparations for the meeting, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman visited Washington, where he held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, War Secretary Pete Hegseth and White House envoy Steve Witkoff.
"We reviewed the Saudi-US relations and explored ways to bolster our strategic cooperation," Prince Khalid said in an X post.
During Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia back in May, the United States and Saudi Arabia announced a $142 billion arms deal, with bin Salman vowing to boost the kingdom's investments in America to $1 trillion.
In 2020, the first Trump administration agreed to sell 50 F-35s to the United Arab Emirates as part of a deal to get the Persian Gulf Arab country to normalize relations with Israel.
In 2021, however, the administration of US president Joe Biden suspended the deal to review it, mainly due to concerns that China could acquire the F-35's technology.
Later, Washington gave Abu Dhabi a list of security demands, which Emirati officials rejected leading to the breakdown of the agreement.
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