48 F-35 fighter jets, 49 engines included in package, according to State Department’s notification to Congress
Personnel work on US Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jets parked on the tarmac at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base in Ceiba, Puerto Rico, January 3, 2026. REUTERS
The US State Department approved a possible $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, it said in a statement on Thursday.
The package also includes 49 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines, along with cryptographic equipment, electronic warfare support, training and logistics packages, according to the notification sent to Congress.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region,” the State Department said.
The department said the sale “will not alter the military balance in the region” and would not require additional US government or contractor personnel in Saudi Arabia.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, based in Fort Worth, Texas, and Pratt & Whitney Military Engines, based in East Hartford, Connecticut, will serve as the principal contractors, the department said.
According to US law, Congress members have 30 calendar days from the formal notification to review or object to the sale before the administration finalises the deal.
Last week, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought military assistance from President Donald Trump to help fight Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, three sources familiar with the matter said, as the Houthis stepped up their threat to the Red Sea.
Trump held at least two phone conversations with the Saudi leader last Thursday and did not agree to the US striking Houthis, the sources said. Washington told Riyadh that it would help with intelligence sharing and targeting, they added.
The White House did not address a Reuters question on whether there were any phone calls between the two leaders, but a senior administration official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Washington was in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni government.
“The United States is focused on protecting our core national security interests — such as ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea — while empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges,” the official said.
The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the phone calls and on conversations between the two leaders.
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, travelled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks, two of the sources said.
News of the request to Trump was first reported by Axios.
Saudi Appeal marks change of approach
The US war with Iran has entered its seventh month with no immediate end in sight. The war has driven up prices of global oil and US gasoline, sending Trump’s approval ratings to a record low before the November midterm elections.
The Iran-backed Houthis have staged a dramatic advance down Yemen’s Red Sea coast in recent days, reaching the strategic island of Perim in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Friday, four Yemeni government sources told Reuters.
Houthi control of the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is on the opposite side of the Arabian Peninsula from the Strait of Hormuz, could give Iran a critical advantage in its war with the US, reducing supplies through a second major transit corridor and sending oil prices surging.
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Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has relied on the Red Sea route since the Iran conflict effectively closed Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil used to flow.
The escalation between the Houthis and Riyadh dates back to early July, when Houthi forces confronted what they said were Saudi warplanes attempting to prevent an Iranian civilian aircraft from landing at Yemen’s Sanaa International Airport. That exchange of fire broke a four-year truce in the conflict between the kingdom and the Iran-aligned group.
Saudi Arabia told the United States in July that it could fight the Houthis on its own and emphasised to Washington that the war should not escalate, according to a fourth person familiar with the matter. Saudi officials urged their US counterparts to increase economic pressure on Iran.
A former senior US official familiar with current developments said the Saudi leader’s Thursday outreach to Trump was to see if the US could increase its pressure on the Houthis militarily, instead of Riyadh having to confront the group alone. “So far, they’ve been told no, but watch that space,” the official said.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28 and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.
