ILUSTRASI. Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
Source: Reuters | Editor: I knew Laoli
KONTAN.CO.ID – WASHINGTON. The United States Department of State (US) notified Congress that it approved the sale of 50 Lockheed Martin Co F-35 jets to the United Arab Emirates. The sales value is US $ 10 billion.
The plan is for the United States and the UAE to produce a sale and purchase approval letter for the F-35 jets on that day on UAE National Day, which is celebrated on December 2.
Quoting ReutersFriday, October 30, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House of Representatives, whose members criticize the UAE’s role in civilian deaths in Yemen, have the right to review, and block, arms sales under an informal review process.
Israel initially balked at selling the state-of-the-art aircraft but last week dropped its denial after US assurances that Israel’s military superiority would be maintained.
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Any agreement must fulfill the old agreement with Israel that any weapons the US sells in the region must not interfere with Israel’s qualitative military advantage. “The US guarantees that any weapon given to Israel is definitely superior in capability to weapons sold to its neighbors.
“We all face the same threat,” said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who blatantly offended Iran.
“But in saying that, it is important that the (Israeli) defense establishment accepts this clear American attempt to maintain our qualitative military advantage,” added Netanyahu.
Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed that an informal notification had been sent to Congress on Thursday. “As Congress looks at these sales, it should be clear that changing the status quo will not jeopardize Israel’s military profits,” he said.
Also Read: Bahrain allows UAE-Israel flights across its airspace
The source said the Trump administration aims to send a formal notification of the deal in the coming days.
After being notified formally, Congress can choose to pass legislation to block sales.
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