United States decides to sell F-35 aircraft to Emirates

The United States government led by Donald Trump made the decision to sell state-of-the-art F-35 aircraft to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after the signing of the Abraham Agreements which have meant the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Gulf country and Israel.

The Israeli state itself expressed its approval of the imminent sale of these F-35 fighters to the UAE after the diplomatic link between the Israeli and Arab countries was established, prompted by a historic pact (which Bahrain joined) sponsored by the United States which seeks to pacify the Middle East region and put an end to entrenched problems such as the clash between Israelis and Palestinians. 

The decision to sell these devices to the Emirates, which had hoped to acquire them several years ago, was informally announced to the members of the foreign affairs committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate and is now taking shape, particularly bearing in mind the approval given by Israel. 

The US State Department, which regularly announces arms sales to foreign countries, did not deny the information, and pointed out that such operations are officially reported once Congress is notified.

According to an anonymous parliamentary adviser, Abu Dhabi intends to acquire 50 F-35 fighters for an estimated value of 10.4 billion dollars, as the AFP news agency recalled.

The F-35, an aircraft that is difficult to detect by radar, "would clearly strengthen the capabilities of the Emirate Air Force", particularly against Iran, a common enemy of the United States, Israel and the Emirates, military experts have assured. 

The acquisition of this technology by the Emirates "will significantly modify the balance of forces in the Gulf and will affect Israel's military advantage", Washington's main ally in the region, according to a statement issued on Thursday by the Democratic representative Eliot Engel.

"Rushing to sell (those planes) is in nobody's interest", added Engel, who underlined the consequences that this transaction could have if other Arab allies of the United States also ask to buy F-35s. Engel warned that normalisation with Israel could trigger an arms race in the region, especially if Washington's other Arab allies also ask to purchase this type of aircraft.

The Democratic Senator Bob Menéndez pointed out that "Congress has full authority over the sale of weapons to foreign countries". "We will not relinquish our responsibilities", he added. "The fact that Israel will maintain its superiority by offering Abu Dhabi the same number of these planes as Israel makes no sense," he added.

The announcement comes after the US Defence Secretary, Mark Esper, made a brief visit to Tel Aviv on Thursday to hold further talks on Israel's "qualitative military advantage" in the region.

Last week, Israel said it would not object to the United States selling F-35s to the United Arab Emirates after receiving assurances from Esper himself.

According to the specialist magazine Breaking Defense, Israel would have obtained access to an additional number of F-35s, more advanced than those that the Emirates will receive.

These would be V-22 'Osprey' planes with vertical take-off and landing and Boeing KC-46 refuelling planes, the first of which the United States Army has just received several years late.

Israel is historically opposed to the sale of F-35s to other Middle Eastern countries, including Jordan and Egypt (with which it signed peace agreements even earlier than with the Emirates and Bahrain), because it wishes to maintain its technological superiority in the region.

The United States has been pursuing this policy of "qualitative military advantage" in favour of Israel since the 1960s, and has even made it a law. "Following a precise evaluation by professionals from the defence ministry, it was decided that Israel is not opposed to supplying certain weapons systems to the UAE, when this issue is anchored in an agreement with the US that improves Israel's competitive advantage and guarantees its military advantage in the Middle East in the coming decades", an official Israeli state communiqué stated.

But the decision of the United Arab Emirates to normalise relations with Israel, staged at the Washington White House on 15 September, has brought progress in exchanges between the Arab country and Israel in various sectors. And now it is making this acquisition of American F-35s by the UAE possible.