Trump’s Saudi F-35 deal jolts Israel’s security elite, weakens Netanyahu
The expected sale to Saudi Arabia of American stealth F-35 jets, as well as their sale to Turkey, deeply worries Israel’s security apparatus.
TEL AVIV — US President Donald Trump's announcement on Monday of his intention to sell nearly 50 F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia is sending shockwaves through Israel’s defense and political establishment.
"President Trump knows that transferring these types of aircraft to Saudi Arabia will erase Israel's qualitative advantage, but he has more important interests with Saudi Arabia, business interests," former Israel Air Force (IAF) commander Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eitan Ben Eliyahu, a respected public commentator, said Monday in an interview with the 103FM radio station.
A day before the announcement, the Israeli military sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz a document expressing deep concern about the deal’s potential to erode Israel's historic qualitative military edge and its air superiority in the Middle East, Al-Monitor has learned. The document warned specifically that the sale would undermine Israel's exclusive attack and penetration capabilities against distant adversaries such as Iran, and could disrupt Israeli plans to acquire additional F-35 and F-15 squadrons due to US production constraints.
Israel’s air superiority
