Six F-35As originally ordered by Turkey could be delivered to Greece

UAE signs deal to purchase 50 F-35 stealth fighters an hour before President Biden took office

By Dario Leone
Jan 21 2021
Share this article

The UAE government also signed a separate agreement to buy up to 18 drones, the second-largest sale of US drones to a single country.

The United Arab Emirates has signed an agreement with the US to buy 50 F-35 jets and up to 18 armed drones, anonymous sources told Reuters on Jan. 20, 2021.

One of the sources said the agreement was signed about an hour before President Joseph Biden took office on Wednesday. However, the new president has said he will re-examine the agreements.

As we have already explained, in August Washington agreed to consider a possible sale of F-35s to the UAE after the so called the Abraham Accord, a US-brokered agreement aimed to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel.

The UAE had the chance to accept the negotiated schedule and configuration of the jets while also making the purchase request official thanks to the agreement.

The sources said that although the two countries hoped to have a deal in place in December, the timing of jet deliveries, their cost, the technology packages and training associated with the deal extended negotiations. However, the UAE has had the paperwork for more than a week.

The sources added that the UAE government also signed a separate agreement to buy up to 18 drones, the second-largest sale of US drones to a single country.

The final in-country delivery date for the F-35 jets could not immediately be confirmed, but the initial proposal sent to UAE said 2027, the anonymous sources said.

Noteworthy the sale has proven politically fraught in Congress. According to Defense News in fact, Democratic lawmakers expressed opposition to the potential sale, saying it ignores risks to sensitive military technology posed by the UAE’s ties to Russia and China. Some also raised concerns about the threat to Israel’s qualitative military edge in the Middle East.

However, a December attempt in the Senate to block the arms sales failed, largely along party lines. The first vote concerned the drones and munitions, failing 46-50, while the second concerned the F-35s and fell 47-49.

Nevertheless, any F-35 sale takes years to negotiate and deliver, giving the new US presidential administration ample time to halt the deals. Any sale would also need congressional approval.

F-35A print
This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. F-35A Lightning II 56th OG, 61st FS, LF/12-5050 / 2014

Photo credit: U.S. Air Force


Share this article

Dario Leone

Dario Leone

Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviation Geek Club” one of the world’s most read military aviation blogs. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share this article


Share this article
Share this article

Always up to date! News and offers delivered directly to you!

Get the best aviation news, stories and features from The Aviation Geek Club in our newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.



    Share this article
    Back to top
    My Agile Privacy
    This website uses technical and profiling cookies. Clicking on "Accept" authorises all profiling cookies. Clicking on "Refuse" or the X will refuse all profiling cookies. By clicking on "Customise" you can select which profiling cookies to activate. We and our selected ad partners can store and/or access information on your device, such as cookies, unique identifiers, browsing data. You can always choose the specific purposes related to profiling by accessing the advertising preferences panel, and you can always withdraw your consent at any time by clicking on "Manage consent" at the bottom of the page.

    List of some possible advertising permissions:

    You can consult: our list of advertising partners, the Cookie Policy and the Privacy Policy.
    Warning: some page functionalities could not work due to your privacy choices