ISLAMABAD: The United States’ potential sale of advanced F-35 stealthfighter jets to Saudi Arabia has ignited a firestorm of geopoliticalconcerns, with China’s espionage risks dominating headlines while Indiaquietly frets over Pakistan’s shadowy pathway to the technology. AsPresident Donald Trump prepares to finalize a $142 billion arms packageduring Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s White House visit, militaryanalysts warn of cascading regional imbalances.
The deal, encompassing up to 48 F-35A variants, marks a bold pivot fromlongstanding US hesitations rooted in Israel’s qualitative military edgeand broader Middle East stability. Jerusalem has lobbied Congress forsafeguards like encrypted data diodes to prevent foreign leaks, yet Trump’sadministration eyes Saudi investments exceeding $600 billion, includingnuclear cooperation, as leverage to override objections.
Beneath these great-power tensions lies a subcontinental undercurrentalarming Indian defense circles: the Royal Saudi Air Force’s longstandingreliance on Pakistani pilots. For decades, hundreds of Pakistan Air Forcepersonnel have been seconded to Riyadh, flying F-15 Eagles in jointexercises and providing elite training in exchange for oil subsidies andfinancial aid, fostering deep interoperability.
Indian military analysts, citing historical precedents like the covert Arabarms transfers that bolstered Pakistan during the 1971 war, now envision asimilar scenario with F-35s. Pakistani aviators gaining hands-on experiencewith the jet’s sensor fusion and stealth features could accelerateIslamabad’s own fifth-generation ambitions, potentially tipping the scalesalong the Line of Control.
A nascent Saudi-Pakistan mutual defense pact, signed amid escalatingregional threats, amplifies these fears. New Delhi views it as a conduitfor technology transfer, compelling a reassessment of its air defensepostures and possibly spurring countermeasures like accelerated indigenousstealth programs. As Riyadh pushes for the jets to counter Iranian dronesand Houthi incursions, the ripple effects threaten to reshape South Asiansecurity dynamics for years.
Read Top Stories
The Trump administration’s green light, despite a leaked DefenseIntelligence Agency report flagging Chinese access risks via Riyadh’sBeijing ties, underscores a pragmatic realpolitik. Yet for India, thespecter of a Pakistan-familiarized F-35 ecosystem looms large, urgingurgent diplomatic interventions to mitigate unintended proliferation.