The new administration of US President Joe Biden has temporarily frozen the sale of F-35s to the United Arab Emirates, Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal reported. They say the sale of weapons to Saudi Arabia is also underway. Yes in the exam.
The United Arab Emirates has long expressed interest in buying the planes, and has been promised by the Donald Trump administration a chance to buy them in a side deal made when they agreed to normalize relations with Israel.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said “this is a routine procedure designed to allow the new administration to review all the details of the agreement.” He added that the Biden administration is loyal to the Abrahamic agreements and will work to continue to advance them.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Yosef al-‘Utiba tweeted on the embassy’s official Twitter account that “the deal between the U.S. and the UAE is much more than the sale of F-35s.” He further said that the relationship between the UAE and the US has always been strong, and the UAE has always responded to the US calls to join the military coalition led by it. He further clarified that the relationship between the two countries will ensure the safety and security of the UAE from the threats it faces.
As you may recall, about two weeks ago it was reported in the Arab media and in security magazines around the world that the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayed, informed the Pentagon that the planes he wanted to receive should be fully equipped just like the Israeli planes.
Ben-Zayed demanded from the US Department of Defense that the F35 that would be assigned to his Air Force, would receive an advantage in its configuration, and would be upgraded like the other aircraft in the Navy. This demand comes after the Trump administration informed Congress that it intends to sell these aircraft to the Emirates.
The fear, as stated, is of losing Israel’s air superiority, in case the United Arab Emirates does receive planes that are equipped in exactly the same way as those of the Israeli Air Force (the “mighty” plane).
Sources familiar with the negotiation process said that the idea of the work is that the Israeli air defense systems will be able to locate the F-35 aircraft of the United Arab Emirates with technology that actually overcomes the aircraft’s “evasive” capabilities.
F-35 fighter jets sold to the UAE can also be built in a way that will ensure that those Israeli-owned planes surpass all others sold in the region, experts say.
Washington is already demanding that all F-35s sold to foreign governments not be able to match the performance of U.S. aircraft, said both a congressional employee and a source familiar with past deals.