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Saudi Arabia Wants American F-35s. Israel’s Success With Them Shows Why.

Wall Street Journal - Wednesday, November 19, 2025 by Dov Lieber and |
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Israel has dominated battlefields across the Middle East for the past two years, largely from the air. It has yet to lose a single plane. A major reason is the F-35.

Now, a promise by the Trump administration to sell the most advanced U.S. aircraft to Saudi Arabia is threatening to remove a pillar of Israel’s uncontested military advantage over its neighbors.

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Israel has also improved upon the F-35s, adding its own upgrades and capabilities and learning lessons from its combat use that it has shared with the U.S. Israel would want a say in whether such enhancements are shared with other buyers in the region, said Yaakov Amidror, a former Israeli national security adviser.

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One fear among Israelis is that if the Saudis get F-35s, they will have the ability to spot Israeli F-35s, said Amidror, the former Israeli national security adviser, who is now a fellow at the Washington-based Jewish Institute for National Security of America.

“The fact that Israel was the only country with F-35s in the region was very important,” Amidror said. “It gave us opportunities that allowed us to make operations without being exposed by others, and it gave us an advantage in defensive operations.” 

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Read the full article in the Wall Street Journal.