The U.S. State Department on Thursday approved a potential $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, a move that would make the kingdom only the second country in the Middle East, after Israel, to fly America's most advanced warplane.

The package, formally notified to Congress on September 18, includes the 48 jets along with 49 Pratt & Whitney engines and associated equipment, according to France 24. Lawmakers now have 30 days to scrutinize or attempt to block the deal before it can proceed, and several have already signaled they intend to fight it.

Why Now

The State Department framed the sale as necessary to "improve Saudi Arabia's capability to deter current and future threats" and bolster its air-to-air and air-to-ground self-defense posture, according to NBC News. Riyadh has faced repeated drone and missile strikes from Iranian-backed forces and Houthi fighters since the U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran began in February, and the kingdom has been racing to shore up its air defenses as the Houthis push toward control of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb shipping strait.

Israel, which has held exclusive regional access to the F-35 for more than a decade, has quietly objected to the sale even as it pursues normalization talks with Riyadh. The State Department insisted the deal "will not alter the military balance in the region" and remains consistent with Washington's statutory commitment to preserve Israel's qualitative military edge.

The sharper fight in Washington centers on China. U.S. intelligence analysts have warned that Beijing could exploit Saudi Arabia's deepening military and technology ties — including its reliance on Chinese-made Huawei infrastructure — to gain indirect access to classified F-35 systems. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., a leading critic on the House China committee, blasted the move.

"The Trump Administration should not move forward with this sale when our own intelligence community is warning that it could put the crown jewels of American military technology within reach of the Chinese Communist Party."

Krishnamoorthi and fellow Democrats Joe Courtney and Donald Norcross had pressed the administration in writing against the sale before Thursday's notification, a warning first detailed by Axios, which also reported the deal's roots in the broader U.S.-Saudi defense relationship. CNBC noted the deal builds on a string of recent Saudi arms purchases running into the tens of billions of dollars.

No delivery timeline has been set, and the sale must still clear the 30-day congressional review window, where opposition is expected to be vocal but faces long odds of blocking the package outright given the size of the administration's push for the deal. If it survives review, Saudi Arabia would become the first Arab nation to operate the F-35, reshaping the regional balance of airpower just as the wider Iran-Houthi conflict continues to draw in Gulf states.