Key facts
- The US State Department approved a potential $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.
- Israel plans to request additional US weapons and defense capabilities as "compensation" for the F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia.
- Saudi Arabia would become the first Arab country to operate F-35s if the sale is completed.
- The proposed sale includes 49 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines, communications equipment, and training.
- Israeli officials are expected to ask for systems Washington previously declined to provide, including space-based weapons and "bunker-busting munitions."
Israel plans to seek additional US weapons and defense capabilities as "compensation" after Washington approved the potential sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia for $24.3 billion. Israeli media reported that officials are expected to ask the Trump administration to approve weapons systems that Washington had previously declined to provide, including space-based weapons, interceptor aircraft, and "bunker-busting munitions."
The US State Department notified Congress of the potential sale on Thursday, September 18, 2026. If completed, Saudi Arabia would be the first Arab nation to operate the advanced stealth fighter, while Israel is currently the only Middle Eastern country operating the aircraft. The proposed sale could test Washington's longstanding policy of maintaining Israel's qualitative military edge in the region.
In a separate development, Poland's state-controlled refiner Orlen incurred substantial losses amounting to approximately $424 million from a Venezuelan crude oil transaction. Orlen's Swiss trading arm signed a contract for six million barrels of Venezuelan crude with Dubai-based Hannon International for $345 million on November 29, 2023. An advance payment of $230 million was wired within five days, reportedly in Tether cryptocurrency due to US sanctions on Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA. Polish prosecutors have indicted three former Orlen executives on August 7, charging them over $378 million of the total loss.