After delays and reports that the billion-dollar deal could fall apart, the US Secretary of State said the country is ready to go ahead with the sale of 50 F-35 stealth fighter jets to the UAE.
“As far as the UAE, the F-35s and the drones are concerned, we remain prepared to move forward with both if that is what the UAE is interested in doing,” said Secretary Antony Blinken during a visit to the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kuala Lumpur this Wednesday (15).
In addition to the 35th Generation F-5A fighters, the State Department has approved the supply of up to 18 MQ-9B Reaper unmanned aircraft. The purchase of Abu Dhabi is valued at US$ 23.4 billion, but imes with Washington could make everything go down the drain.
The US has recently expressed concern about China's growing influence and presence in the UAE, in particular the adoption of a 5G cellular network developed by Huawei, which it believes could create a cybersecurity threat to the F-35.
In particular, the government of the United Arab Emirates considers that the security requirements demanded by the United States are unacceptable. The safeguards are specifically designed to prevent sensitive military technologies and resources from falling into Chinese hands.
The US also believed that China was secretly building a military facility inside a commercial port in the emirate. Abu Dhabi was apparently unaware of the effort and work on the port was halted.
The portal Flightglobal notes that vSending the F-35 to the UAE is complicated because the US is committed to ensuring that Israel has a military advantage over its neighbors. Israel has plans to acquire up to 50 examples of the F-35.
“We wanted to make sure, for example, that our commitment to Israel's qualitative military advantage was guaranteed, so we wanted to make sure that we could do a complete review of all technologies that are sold or transferred to other partners in the region, including the United Arab Emirates", says Blinken. “We remain prepared to move forward if the UAE continues to want to pursue these two systems.”
There has been speculation that the US could place restrictions on the UAE's use of the F-35A and sell the country a less capable version of the jet. The United Arab Emirates would be the first Muslim-majority country to own the stealth fighter. It would also be the first non-democracy.
Ultimately, Israel and the US seem hesitant but not entirely against selling the F-35 to the UAE. Washington wants to keep the country in its orbit – especially as China tries to court the nation – and Israel would benefit from having a better-armed partner. to face Iran.
