China, UAE to hold third air force drills as defense ties warm: What we know China and the United Arab Emirates are further deepening their defense and military ties with a third round of aerial exercises. United Arab Emirates
Turkey defense firms break record with $10B in revenues: SIPRI Turkey set a new record with five companies in the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's Top 100 for 2024, which included nine Middle Eastern countries for the first time amid conflict-driven arms demand. Turkey
US approves $1.4B in military sales to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain: What to know An estimated $1 billion in foreign military sales will go to Saudi Arabia, and $445 million will go to Bahrain. United States
Trump says US will sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia, first Arab country to acquire jets The deal could rattle Washington's ties with Israel and is not likely to be approved by Congress unless conditioned on Saudi normalization of ties with Israel. Saudi Arabia
Analysis Turkey boosts R&D spending to $20B amid push for defense self-sufficiency By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Intel: First Israeli Iron Dome battery arrives in US A second Iron Dome battery is expected to arrive by the end of the year. Israel
US Senator grills State Department official on potential F-35 sale to UAE Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Robert Menendez said the possible sale of the advanced fighter jet to the United Arab Emirates could undermine Israel's military superiority in the region. Originals
Israel, India advance on Phalcon AWACS megadeal India’s Cabinet is set to approve next week a $1 billion deal to purchase two Israeli Phalcon AWACS. Israel
What’s next for Russia-Iran military partnership? If the arms embargo on Iran ends in October, what arms might Tehran buy from Moscow? Russia
US to buy eight of Turkey’s F-35s from Lockheed Martin The decision comes after Turkey had been expelled from the fighter jet's production program over its purchase of a Russian air defense system. Originals
Intel: Senators berate Pentagon failure to sever F-35 cooperation with Turkey The Pentagon is still allowing Turkey to produce components for US F-35 fighter jets, violating a defense law that President Donald Trump signed in December. Turkey
Egypt boosts navy amid Turkish threats in the region Differences and conflicts between Egypt and Turkey have intensified, while Turkish threats became clear in the Mediterranean, which disturbed Cairo and prompted it to conclude armament deals for the Egyptian navy to face any military dangers from the Turkish side. Egypt
Intel: Key Republican questions Pentagon’s proposed military training program The Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is pushing back on a Pentagon proposal to train foreign military officers from the Middle East and elsewhere, arguing that it unnecessarily replicates an existing program run by the State Department. United States
Intel: State Department approves $1.4 billion upgrade for Kuwait’s missile defenses The US State Department approved Kuwait’s request for $1.425 billion in upgrades for the Gulf country’s Patriot missile defense systems. Kuwait
Intel: Trump administration pursues new Saudi arms deal despite investigation The Donald Trump administration is doubling down with a new arms deal for Saudi Arabia despite an investigation into last year’s $8 billion emergency weapons sale to Riyadh, a key Senate Democrat revealed in a CNN op-ed Wednesday. Saudi Arabia
Intel: US rescinds ban on British defense firm implicated in Saudi weapons fraud The US State Department is rescinding a 9-year-old policy that barred it from doing business with the Saudi subsidiary of a British defense firm, which pled guilty to fraud in a multibillion-dollar arms deal in 2010. Saudi Arabia
Intel: US contracts Boeing to build new cruise missiles for Saudi Arabia, Qatar The US Navy awarded Boeing a nearly $2 billion contract Wednesday to provide Saudi Arabia with 650 new land attack cruise missiles, as well as to upgrade existing ones by the end of 2028. Saudi Arabia
![A British Royal Air Force Harrier GR7 groundcrew member cycles along the apron infront of a Patriot Missile defence system on his base in Kuwait April 6, 2003. [U.S. troops have a tight control on Baghdad airport and will move out from there in all directions, Jim Wilkinson, a spokesman for U.S. commander General Tommy Franks, said on Sunday.] - PBEAHUOQIBA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2020/05/RTXLWAK.jpg/RTXLWAK.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=Rlh7RZgw)
