House Democrats have filed a bill seeking to prevent the sale of 50 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters to the United Arab Emirates because these world-beating stealth jets will endanger Israel.
The move came a day after the Trump administration Thursday notified Congress it planned to sell the F-35As to the UAE for some $10 billion. The F-35A is the conventional-takeoff-and-landing variant of the stealth fighter. It's also operated by the U.S. Air Force and the Israeli Air Force (IAF), among others.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-NY) introduced legislation that places new obstacles on the sales of the F-35 to Middle East countries outside of Israel. The Democrat bill will include F-35s, unmanned aerial vehicles such as the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper and electronic warfare aircraft such as the Boeing EA-18G Growler in service with the U.S. Navy.
"The Trump Administration has made it clear that they'll put lethal weaponry in just about anyone's hands without regard to potential loss of life so long as the check clears," said Engel. "So it's up to Congress to consider the ramifications of allowing new partners to purchase the F-35 and other advanced systems.
The bill will condition sales of these weapons systems on the recipient country signing a peace or normalization deal with Israel. It also mandates the purchasing country protect the weapon's sensitive technology from theft or diversion and not violate international humanitarian law.
The purchasing country also has to consult with the U.S. on the use of these weapons. In addition, the weapons will have to be modified to ensure Israel can identify, locate and continually track them.
Military experts say the Democrats' opposition to the sale of the F-35s to the UAE is bewildering given Israel isn't opposing the sale.
Last week, Israeli defense minister Benny Gantz said Israel won't oppose the Trump administration selling "certain weapons systems" to the Emiratis. Gantz's remark was widely interpreted as a green light for the F-35 sale to the UAE.
Israel is legally guaranteed a qualitative military edge (QME) by the U.S. QME ensures an Israeli technological advantage over its neighbors and exclusive access to some of America's advanced weapons.
Even were the UAE to secure all the necessary approvals from Congress, U.S. weapons sales normally move at a glacial pace inside the Washington bureaucracy. It might take at least five years to complete this deal.
It's also unclear if the UAE intends to buy all 50 of the F-35As. Each jet costs more than $100 million. The IAF operates 50 F-35As and is considering buying 25 more.
