US intelligence officials have warned that a proposed $24 billion sale of F-35 fighters to Saudi Arabia could expose sensitive aircraft technology to China through espionage or Riyadh’s security ties with Beijing. The assessment centres on risks to the jet’s radar, surveillance and other core systems, as well as the security of facilities that would handle the F-35 programme in Saudi Arabia.
The warning comes as Washington weighs one of its most sensitive arms exports, with the F-35 regarded as the Pentagon’s most tightly controlled combat aircraft. The internal review questions whether Saudi Arabia could keep Chinese military and intelligence personnel away from relevant sites and whether it would remove Huawei and ZTE equipment from associated networks and telecoms infrastructure.
The concerns also reach beyond the aircraft itself to the physical and digital environment around Saudi bases and maintenance areas. Saudi Arabia has long relied on US defence supplies, but its parallel security contacts with China have raised counterintelligence concerns inside the US government, including over previous Chinese ballistic-missile cooperation with the kingdom.
The assessment does not amount to a final decision on the sale, but it points to tighter scrutiny and possible conditions before any approval. For the F-35 programme and US defence exporters, the case underscores how foreign military sales can hinge on access control, cyber security and the risk of advanced technology transfer.