US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he is considering a proposal to supply Saudi Arabia with F-35 stealth fighter jets manufactured by Lockheed Martin.āThey want to buy a lot of jets,ā Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. āIām looking at that. Theyāve asked me to look at it. They want to buy a lot of F-35s ā actually more than that, fighter jets.ā
The potential sale comes ahead of next weekās visit to the White House by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, where both sides are expected to finalise economic and defence agreements.
Describing the upcoming engagement, Trump said it was āmore than a meeting,ā adding that the United States would be āhonouringā Saudi Arabia during the visit. He reiterated his hope that Riyadh would soon join the Abraham Accords, which normalised ties between Israel and several Muslim-majority countries ā a step Saudi Arabia has so far tied to progress on a roadmap toward Palestinian statehood.
Trump and the crown prince are also expected to discuss a broader US-Saudi defence pact. According to International media reports, last month both sides were optimistic about signing such an agreement during the visit. Riyadh has sought formal US security guarantees and access to more advanced American weaponry. Saudi Arabia remains one of Washingtonās largest arms customers, with the decades-old partnership built on an exchange of oil for US security commitments.
