On Tuesday, the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, announced his country's approval to sell 50 F-35 jets to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as part of a broader arms deal worth more than $23bn.
https://twitter.com/SecPompeo/status/1326211556456214529
In a tweet on his Twitter account, Pompeo added that the sale was a "recognition of our deepening relationship and the UAE’s need for advanced defense capabilities to deter and defend itself against heightened threats from Iran.
"The proposed sale will make the UAE even more capable and interoperable with US partners in a manner fully consistent with America’s longstanding commitment to ensuring Israel’s qualitative military edge," he said.
The $23.37bn package includes up to 50 F-35 Lightning II aircraft, up to 18 MQ-9B Unmanned Aerial Systems and a package of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions, the State Department said.
The UAE Embassy in Washington said on Tuesday, the sale of the F-35 "is consistent with the US National Defense Strategy to build and expand America’s network of alliances and partnerships to share the burden of collective security".
“The UAE’s historic agreement to normalize relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to positively transform the region’s strategic landscape,” Pompeo said. “Our adversaries, especially those in Iran, know this and will stop at nothing to disrupt this shared success.”
After agreeing to normalize relations with Israel in August, Emirati officials had said purchasing the F-35s was among their main goals.
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