US arms sales to the Middle East.
New Delhi: Saudi Arabia, an old ally of the US, has been keen to acquire the stealth F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighter for many years. However, due to the Pentagon’s slow process, Saudi Arabia is now looking for an alternative.
To further bolster its air power amid changing security challenges in the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia had evinced interest in purchasing F-35 stealth aircraft in 2017, around the same time that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) also made a similar request to the US.
However, Saudi Arabia, which owns huge assets, has faced many difficulties in buying American stealth fighter aircraft. One reason is that Saudi Arabia has been accused of large-scale human rights violations and civilian deaths during its intervention in Yemen’s civil war.
According to the news published in the Eurasian Times, the USA is also monitoring China’s growing military cooperation with Riyadh. The Pentagon is very vigilant about the security of the F-35 platform and is always alert against the potential compromise of its sensitive technology.
However, the biggest obstacle to Saudi Arabia acquiring the F-35 is America’s commitment to Israel. The USA and Israel have a long-standing agreement that states that the strength of US military equipment supplied to Israel must be “superior” to those sold to Israel’s neighbours.
This means that US arms sales to the Middle East cannot jeopardise Israel’s “qualitative military edge”. Currently, Israel is the only operator of the F-35 in the entire Middle East.
What is the other option for Saudi Arabia?
Currently, only three countries have fifth-generation stealth fighter jets, including the United States, China and Russia. Except for the US, only Russia and China emerge as available alternatives.
China has two fifth-generation stealth aircraft: The J-20 Mighty Dragon and the new J-35. China is unlikely to export the J-20 for security reasons, so the J-35A, which is designed for export, is the only available option.
If media reports are to be believed, Pakistan officially decided to buy this aircraft within a month of its launch. For Saudi Arabia, which has bought Chinese military equipment (including combat drones) in the past, the J-35 stealth aircraft could be a suitable option.
Turkey’s KAAN for Saudi Arabia?
According to the latest reports in the local media in Turkey, Saudi Arabia is considering buying 100 KAAN fifth-generation stealth fighter jets from Turkey.
Turkish and Saudi defense officials, including Saudi Air Force Commander Turki bin Bandar Al Saud, Saudi Deputy Defense Minister Khalid bin Hussein Al Biari, and Turkish Defense Industry President Haluk Gorgun have held high-level talks in Istanbul. The three-day discussions were aimed at boosting cooperation on major defence initiatives, including KAAN.
