UAE suspends talks on fighter jets purchase in $23bn weapons deal with US
Sale said to be disrupted by Washington’s concern over Abu Dhabi's relationship with China
14 December 2021 - 22:22
byGhaida Ghantous, Maria Ponnezhath and Idrees Ali
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
A Lockheed Martin F-35 aircraft is seen at the ILA Air Show in Berlin, Germany, April 25 2018. Picture: AXEL SCHMIDT/REUTERS
Dubai/Washington — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has informed the US that it will suspend discussions to acquire F-35 fighter jets, a UAE official said on Tuesday, part of a $23bn deal with the ally that also includes drones and other advanced munitions.
The sale of 50 F-35 warplanes made by Lockheed Martin to the UAE had slowed amid concerns in Washington over Abu Dhabi's relationship with China, including use of Huawei 5G technology in the country.
“Technical requirements, sovereign operational restrictions, and cost/benefit analysis led to the reassessment,” the UAE official said in a statement that confirmed a report in the Wall Street Journal.
“The US remains the UAE’s preferred provider for advanced defence requirements and discussions for the F-35 may be reopened in the future,” the official said, adding there were discussions to “address mutual defence security conditions for the acquisition”.
The UAE had signed an agreement to purchase 50 F-35 jets and up to 18 armed drones, people familiar with the situation said in January.
Earlier, at the Pentagon, spokesperson John Kirby had said the US partnership with the UAE was more strategic and complex than a weapons sale and Washington was committed to working with Abu Dhabi to address their questions.
“We will always insist, as a matter of statutory requirements and policy, on a variety of end use requirements,” Kirby said.
He added that a meeting between US and UAE officials at the Pentagon later this week was set to be about broad topics but anticipated that the weapons sale would come up.
Kirby referred questions about details of specific arms sales to the state department.
A department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the Biden administration was committed to the proposed sales of the F-35 aircraft along with the MQ-9B and munitions.
“We are hopeful that we can work through any outstanding issues,” the official said.
Lockheed Martin referred requests for comment to the US and UAE governments.
The UAE, one of Washington’s closest Middle East allies, had long expressed interest in acquiring the F-35 jets, and was promised a chance to buy them in a side deal when it agreed to normalise relations with Israel in August 2020.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
UAE suspends talks on fighter jets purchase in $23bn weapons deal with US
Sale said to be disrupted by Washington’s concern over Abu Dhabi's relationship with China
Dubai/Washington — The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has informed the US that it will suspend discussions to acquire F-35 fighter jets, a UAE official said on Tuesday, part of a $23bn deal with the ally that also includes drones and other advanced munitions.
The sale of 50 F-35 warplanes made by Lockheed Martin to the UAE had slowed amid concerns in Washington over Abu Dhabi's relationship with China, including use of Huawei 5G technology in the country.
“Technical requirements, sovereign operational restrictions, and cost/benefit analysis led to the reassessment,” the UAE official said in a statement that confirmed a report in the Wall Street Journal.
“The US remains the UAE’s preferred provider for advanced defence requirements and discussions for the F-35 may be reopened in the future,” the official said, adding there were discussions to “address mutual defence security conditions for the acquisition”.
The UAE had signed an agreement to purchase 50 F-35 jets and up to 18 armed drones, people familiar with the situation said in January.
Earlier, at the Pentagon, spokesperson John Kirby had said the US partnership with the UAE was more strategic and complex than a weapons sale and Washington was committed to working with Abu Dhabi to address their questions.
“We will always insist, as a matter of statutory requirements and policy, on a variety of end use requirements,” Kirby said.
He added that a meeting between US and UAE officials at the Pentagon later this week was set to be about broad topics but anticipated that the weapons sale would come up.
Kirby referred questions about details of specific arms sales to the state department.
A department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that the Biden administration was committed to the proposed sales of the F-35 aircraft along with the MQ-9B and munitions.
“We are hopeful that we can work through any outstanding issues,” the official said.
Lockheed Martin referred requests for comment to the US and UAE governments.
The UAE, one of Washington’s closest Middle East allies, had long expressed interest in acquiring the F-35 jets, and was promised a chance to buy them in a side deal when it agreed to normalise relations with Israel in August 2020.
Reuters
China tested hypersonic weapons twice, says report
Israel signs first defence pact with Morocco
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Related Articles
Interpol elects UAE official as president despite claims he ignored torture
BRIAN KANTOR: SA should emulate the UAE by starting a Dubai experiment
UAE bank fined $100m in US probe into Sudan sanctions violations
UAE’s crackdown on illicit gold may shift the problem to African countries
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.