From: The Times of Israel May 26, 2025
Trump’s huge Saudi arms deal may be limited by US pledge to preserve Israel’s military edge: QME

As Riyadh eyes advanced weaponry, Washington’s commitment to Israel’s defense supremacy means coveted F-35 fighter jets likely won’t be part of $142 billion in potential sales.

A landmark $142 billion arms deal between the United States and Saudi Arabia has the potential to reshape the way the Middle East looks from a defense perspective, significantly boosting Riyadh’s military might.

But despite its high profile and even higher price tag, the arrangement will likely be limited by a longstanding US defense doctrine safeguarding Israel’s regional defense superiority, experts say.

While details about the deal remain scant, speculation surrounding what it may include has been colored by Saudi Arabian requests to purchase state-of-the-art F-35 fighter jets. But any such sale, analysts point out, would run afoul of a US commitment to Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge, or QME, which has long curtailed the transfer of certain advanced weaponry to the region.

The White House unveiled the deal, described as “the largest defense sales agreement in history,” on May 13. According to a White House fact sheet, the US will supply Saudi Arabia with “state-of-the-art war-fighting equipment and services” from more than a dozen American defense contractors.

The Trump administration has not detailed what the agreement entails, beyond sketching out five key areas it says the deal covers:
1. advancing air force and space capabilities;
2. strengthening air and missile defense systems;
3. bolstering maritime and coastal security;
4. modernizing border protection and ground forces;
5. and upgrading information and communications technology.