Public sentiment towards the US-Saudi F-35 jet deal is predominantly negative, highlighting concerns over national security, ethical implications of arming a regime with a poor human rights record, and fears of potential misuse of advanced military technology by adversaries, particularly Pakistan. Commenters express distrust towards the US government's motivations, reflecting strong skepticism about the geopolitical ramifications of the deal.

US Government

Saudi Arabia

Pakistan

Probably better than selling them to turkey. If turkey didn’t buy s400’s they likely would have a squadron of f35’s operating. Saudis atleast to my understand have been an ally for a long time and operate using US aircraft so them wanting f35’s isn’t a huge red flag or anything and the US could always offer a export variant

My_pp_

What security risk do you forsee F-35s in Saudi Arabia to have that is unique compared to other foreign operators?

Inceptor57

KSA already operates advanced US aircraft and air defense systems. It has also remained on a neutral ground during major wars in the Middle East. There is not really a huge amount of risk there.


I'm more interested to see what would be the catch to the F-35 deal.

Lazy-Ad-7372

Yeah, from the standpoint of things potentially being reverse-engineered or outright handed over in the form of documentation and whatnot. 

Old-Bat-7384

Iggy_Arbuckle

Now how big is the chance that  the American Congress will give their approval?

Camelbak99

Why would there even be a risk? Are you worried Saudi Arabia might pass F-35 tech to Pakistan?

Late_Video_5744

coolsid_5

Nixon sold F14s to Iran but if Trump sells F35s to Saudi then that could spur F35 gifts to Israel and around we go. Good for LM.

Wild-Entertainment90

candylandmine

What risk?  The US can basically turn off the capability to use the F35 whenever they want through ALIS/ODIN.

FelixTheEngine

My biggest concern is in the electronics, potentially falling into adversarial hands. With how interconnected the F-35 is to function, it would be a tarmac ornament if an adversary knew how to counter the electronics via hacking or other methods. 

I'm generally against sharing military hardware with any non-NATO members, especially our most cutting edge tools.

titsmuhgeee

It's a dumb move.  They would sell the tech to China overnight.

Roncinante

The Iron Law of AskReddit:


With any question that begins, "Conservatives of Reddit...", 95 percent of the answers will begin, "I'm not a conservative, but ..."

Alaska_Jack

you won't get answers from conservatives here

Party-Ad4482

For context: Trump said he would sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, despite Pentagon officials’ concerns that China could steal the technology. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is set to visit the White House today.

Source: https://nl.nytimes.com/f/newsletter/88Yb2LlCofsyYH71WA2Lvg~~/AAAAARA~/FhtbNZaqbl5suDGs5Ar_2XTqFalgZ7eFO4io2F0m9PxrZaNf4f30VIhHJevqFX7IExaEk2CbLLSdHyz2K_-RF5rOTBbueZ02_Qft_CRQjUycq02eAuMynfOnFoMavoEjlN4f4mITsLxIXtJkD9LQSo9FIvjl-LXfDRVMiS_HkCkmeyimyvo072Y52HIpOX60ubGzOUR_c_ByEdDcJ63EbcPVNO4Grv6z8zY28fvjizW8TvViEVXVZFrCeTlvJ1UKFWtZPQFBbChqynGqhyOxksgseqaY0TClRhioj7g7pLXBFAfrEkVJ-yJqeykb6T2asOgyTEDJCGsYw_1r3nfue6KZ-Yt3kfbtZKp5JXU0m99lxMUAUaFAKB1sUhHjIGyN

HopDropNRoll

Great idea. Like when we armed Bin Laden in Afghanistan. 🙄

jordan1978

They love it now. They even forgive them for doing 911 now. Not this, his rapes, pedophelia not treason will end this. These people are anti American through and through.

T-BoneTech1985

A poor spectator from Europe here, so I've got no horse in this race.

That being said, it seems to me that everything bad that Trump has done/is doing doesn't bother conservatives so long as it annoys democrats.

Fracture90000

I used to be a conservative until shit went off the rails.  I’m still a conservative to most people to the left of center, especially when it comes to national defense and foreign policy.  I’m a lonely man in the political sense.

That being said:

The F35 is not the F22, and it is not a US solo project.  There are lots of partner countries.  The F35 is basically the new F16 and designed so that it could be exported eventually.  To use a comparison the Saudis would understand, if the F22 is the equivalent to the Ferrari F1 car, the F35 would be a Ferrari road car.  It has some of the same technology, but for the “masses.”

Saudi Arabia is a despotic monarchy; however, them having export modified f35s does not make them a threat to the US, even if a lost plane ended up in the wrong hands.  Plus, if we didn’t sell them planes, someone else would and then we would have less leverage diplomatically.

[deleted]

If the Saudi's want F-35's. They have to keep selling all their oil in USD for the global market.

Any-Investment5692

Karma farm post. You MIGHT get 1 real answer. The rest will be coming from emotionally charged people that identify as being on the left.

LazyCoffee

We have been selling weapon systems to Saudi Arabia for 80 years. Why is this news?

VeritasLuxMea

Didn't Biden approve F-35's to UAE? As an anti-Trumpist conservative, I'm not sure why I should care about Saudi Arabia getting them. We sold them other air superiority planes in the past, like F-15's under both Republican and Democrat administrations.


I'm much more concerned about our allies who have realized that buying F-35's from a faithless partner is not a good idea.

Leverkaas2516

Just like the computers made the year they were built. They are outdated and don't threaten America directly. 

🤷‍♂️ whatever

Edit: lean more to the right but definitely not full conservative

ohnomynono

“B-B-But Trump’s a genius!” they say.  M-O-R-O-N-S

IvanDrake

F-35 planes are export models.  They're available to all well qualified buyers.

It's F-22 planes that are kept close.

ChiefStrongbones

The F-35s are in the open. What kind of low tech military hardware and technology is he allowing to be sold? Surveillance systems? Facial recognition software? Social media monitoring?

RedditReader4031

These threads always devolve into a leftist circle jerk it's too bad. I'm not a conservative but I am genuinely curious what they think about it and not left wing fan fiction haha.

baraboosh

A friendly reminder that there’s a wide spectrum of conservatives (just like progressives), and you won’t hear anything from trump-loving conservatives, which is what you are targeting.

OvulatingScrotum

Probably not the best move, but whenever the US sells planes to allies, most of the "real" tech is stripped out.  On a mission to sell F-15s to UAE, the planes were basically shells with the basics.  All the real tech that made it a cutting edge weapon of war was stripped out before they were sent.

Supermac34

Correction, Lockheed is selling F35s to SA.

Icthyphile

You do know we regularly sell jets with degraded capabilities to foreign countries right? Not to mention, the F35 was designed to be exported and built in such a way that makes it all but impossible to reverse engineer. Either way, it’s not like we’re selling F-22s

Quadz1527

Not a conservative 

Not a fan of the sale but it will be a stripped down model.

coastal_ghost08

Selling fat Amy isn't the biggest deal, the nerd... Yeah... Okay fine. 

If he starts selling The Kid, he needs to be removed from office before he kills us all.

10ToSfromaSRBalloon

It wouldn’t matter unless they have pilots. Also with the way they boast and show. It’ll be a mantel piece or someone’s crashing it.

Kindly-Talk-1912

The US has sold arms to Saudi Arabia for decades. The Kingdom is largely viewed as aligned with the US on gulf policy relative to nations like Iran. If anything, Israel pays attention in order to maintain the military edge in the region. Unsure why this dynamic is being attributed to Trump when it seems clearly a continuation of a longstanding strategy.

Taxing

doublegg83

This sales need to be approved by Congress and there is enough dissent from Republicans that they may actually  block the sale.

Lopsided-Ticket3813

Trump is not only in bed with people we shouldn’t be he’s turned the USA into a fuck stock. I won’t forgive people for voting this man back in.

Dantheunicornman

He’s selling out our country and putting us in danger.

NewFraige

As a libertarian, I’m against it. I don’t want the US government playing arms dealer for foreign governments, I don’t want more entanglements in the Middle East, and I don’t want my tax dollars underwriting a defense industry that keeps dragging us into blowback cycles. If conservatives want small government, this should be the easiest place to apply it.

g_bleezy

dont blame them. the boeing 767s were too slow (too soon?) /s

Ska82

Asking Reddit about military stuff is futile. It’s all propaganda.

Shotgun_Sentinel

I don't care much about that, i care about the lack of ethics regarding the Khashoggi case.  
Trump is pretty much ok'ing that with this meeting. This is again another stab in the back of what the US is supposed to stand for and a stab in the back of every other decent country/person.

fastbikkel

Not a fan, it just looks like putting profit over ethics and long‑term safety.

KissAndCursed

Fuck that fucking piece of shit traitor rapist.

cadezego5

We do whatever Orange Daddy tells us what to do. Orange Daddy is never wrong.

If it ever seems like Orange Daddy is wrong, it is either due to liberals or Democrat hoaxes.

Tiny_Brilliant7347

Conservatives are almost the same as jihadists. So they probably love it. Maye they should sell them some rocks too for when their women get out of line...

Supremacy13

They are too busy bending over and spreading their cheeks to answer.

DrRealName

I'm sure he begged them to 9/11 Chicago and Portland...

ColeBane

They are playing the USA like trash fiddle.

ZeroKarma6250

18 of the 19 terrorists of 9/11 were Saudis.  Not to mention the whole dismembering a journalist based in America.  But Kush and trump making billions off the Prince is all that's important, right?

shep2105

This isnt a Trump thing.  This is a liberal TDS thing.  Multiple presidents have sold jets and other military technology to other countries, including both Democratic and Republican administrations. For example, the Reagan administration sold advanced jets to Saudi Arabia, and the Obama administration approved major arms deals, including advanced F-15s for Saudi Arabia and a total arms export tally that surpassed Bush's. More recently, the Trump and Biden administrations have continued arms sales to countries like the UAE. 

* **Reagan Administration:** Sold advanced jets to Saudi Arabia in the 1980s.
* **Obama Administration:** Finalized a massive $30 billion deal to sell 84 advanced F-15SA fighters to Saudi Arabia, plus upgrades to existing jets and new helicopters, as a countermeasure against Iran. The administration's total arms export sales were more than double the Bush administration's.
* **Trump Administration:** Approved deals to sell weapons to countries like the United Arab Emirates, including up to 50 F-35 aircraft. The administration was also involved in pushing for and finalizing a Kuwaiti deal for F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighters.
* **Clinton Administration:** Approved a technology transfer to China, which required the president to certify that such exports were in the national interest. 

Otherwise-Ground5066

Why don’t we cut out the middle man and just start bombing ourselves?

EvilTodd1970

I hate Trump but I’m a bit confused why this is a big deal. Don’t we sell the saudis F-15s under other administrations? Isn’t this just the next generation of that?

IGotScammed5545

They won't have all the goodies or improvements. Model A next to a GT.

jeffeviejo

I mean, we've already been working with them on the secret military tech side. Had a buddy that lived in SA for 2 yrs, working on Apaches for them, I believe for Boeing after he got out of the US Army. Ended up becoming an engineer for Boeing, and went back over there for another year or so.

He now works in the states for the same company, kind of as a liaison for the Army, any time they wanna make a change, hes the guy that has to draw it up or sign off on it

As far as the F35 goes.. We've been selling them to allies. Its a dumbed down version, and IIRC we have some control over them as far a maintenance, parts, and software goes. So if they wanna fuck around, their planes isnt gonna do them much good for long

Captain_Nipples

The country that sent us the 9/11 attackers gets F35s? Won’t need to high jack airliners next time.

echo5milk

Can we just do an AskReddit for all common sense policy?

r/Conservative - Do trans rights matter?
r/Conservative - Should women have the right to vote?
r/Conservative - Should blacks have the right to vote?
r/Conservative - Do you agree with gay rights?
r/Conservative - Do you agree with the socialist $2k checks trump is potentially going to send?
r/Conservative - Do you agree with the women's right to choose during pregnancy?

I've got so many I want to know!

CreativeFraud

ThinLikeABeerCan

In their minds, probably the greatest military deal in the history of deals, that I can tell you

B_R_U_H

Trump would sell the US Constitution if the price was right.

beavis617

Hey, these journalists aren’t going to kill themselves. 🤷‍♂️

mrweatherbeef

Like everything else this year, concerned but not surprised.

cardgrl21

Those dumb fucking cunts aren't capable of thinking for themselves. They'll just repeat whatever propaganda is shoved down their throats and then go back to blaming liberals for all their problems.

Thor_2099

Trump sold Javelins to them years ago. I made a lot of noise about that and no one ever knew what i was going on about.


You dont need hijacked planes to take down a sky scraper if you have a few javelins.

ElmoDoes3D

We’ve already sold them to about a dozen allied nations and a lot of them are already flying. So it’s not ground breaking news that we are selling to another country in my opinion. Maybe just cause Trump said it??

birwin353

remember when the Saudis gave Kushner $2 billion?

Shiftymennoknight

To the surprise of no one.

In unrelated news, the Trump Riyadh was announced as being approved.

TrumpisaRussianCuck

Giving our top secret  technolgy to China and Russia so Bone Spurs can build a resort....  How is this not treason??

gent4you

Every Western ally that bought into the program is regretting it now that it's secrets will be in the hands of our adversaries.

Elisius

Didn’t MAGA say that Hillary was going to do shit like this?

Separate-Canary559

intelpentium400

The last time Saudis controlled US aircraft, two towers came tumbling down.

Cold-Cell2820

An yet we still have an embargo against Cuba.

I-am-not-a-celebrity

When China shoots down all our F-35s in a future conflict over Taiwan, we'll know why.

Wise-Passion-4671

selling F-35's to Saudi Arabia (and exposing all the tech to Russia &amp; China)

winning!

potatoears

With kill chips installed that the Israelis can access

Commercial_Wind8212

Should’ve put this fucking piece of shit in prison a long time ago. A functioning democracy would’ve done it.

huxtiblejones

... I wonder how many billions they're paying our criminal president...

My_alias_is_too_lon

Of course he will. Wouldn’t expect anything less.

Aggravating_Sky_4421

ChatnNaked

US has never sold the most advanced fighter jets to SA

Can be blocked by Congress

xitizen7

Is there much point in having the jets if future administrations stop selling them the parts ?

Gibodean

Why the fuck do people forget why [this](https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/naval-air-station-pensacola-shooting-called-act-of-terrorism-011320) is a bad idea.

kaishinoske1

I look forward to Mitch Kenny’s interview about Australia selling F35 jets parts to Saudi Arabia.

Micronlance

Well, on the bright side, operating those in the desert should cost Saudi Arabia more than their oil income in maintenance.

They should just have picked up some bargain SAAB Gripen instead.

cr0ft

really excited a foreign nation has a military base and f-35s inside the middle of the united states.

Making America Vulnerable again.

Chasa619

Trump's America First:

\- 40B taxpayer bail out to Argentina while American farmers suffer from tariffs  
  
\- Uncalculated amount of bribes from Israel = best military tech to kill all your enemies, ignore your crimes, easy pass to prosecute own citizens for burning your flag, president begging your country to not prosecute you on your behalf  
  
\- 2B investment into your son + 600B + 400m gifted jet that will cost 1B to remodel = training base in Idaho, AI nvidia chip access, Our best jet tech  
  
\- A few small million for a golden visa = Rich immigrants only, poor get I.C.E'd  
  
American is for sale boys and Trump is cashing in on the downfall

addiktion

Oh this is neat. We are really cozying up to dictators nowadays aren’t we? First Al Sharaa and now MBS… I mean, I realize we’ve done so covertly but this is on full display for the world to see. 

I think we can conclude that any remaining veneer of democracy is on its last legs. 

chiefmackdaddypuff

So we're just handing everything over to the Saudis...

Awesome.

TwoWeaselsInDisguise

Neutral-President

Nanasweed

Congress need to get off their asses and stop this shit. wtf.

VincentNacon

Is Bill Burr going to do a Saudi Arabia residency since the money is so good?

Wbino

When do they get to build an air base on US soil?

wind_dude

IndependentThink4698

What’s Trump cut?…I’m actually being serious

butkusrules

The United States is moving forward with a controversial plan to sell F-35 stealth fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, which has drawn opposition from Israel concerned about maintaining military dominance in the region.

US-Saudi F-35 Jet Deal

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