United Arab Emirates Purchases F-35 Fighter Jets And Armed Drones From The United States

Jet F-35A Lightning II MSgt John Nimmo Sr Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed an agreement with the United States (US), regarding the purchase of 50 F-35 fighter jets and 18 armed drones, on the day of Joe Biden's inauguration as President of the United States, Wednesday, January 20.

The signing of the cooperation, which was carried out before this inauguration, was said to be reviewed by President Joe Biden. However, the UAE is one of the US allies in the Middle East.

The UAE has long been known to have had a big crush on the F-35 Jet alert from the weapons manufacturer, defense to space technology Lockhead Martin. The UAE was promised to buy the 5th generation fighter aircraft, when it agreed to normalize relations with Israel in August last year.

One of the sources told Reuters the deal, signed an hour before Biden's inauguration, contained delivery schedules and the configuration of the jet he wanted to buy, while making a formal purchase request.

F-35 jets. (USA Air Force / Wikimedia Commons)

"The UAE has had the document for more than a week. The UAE and the United States hope to reach an agreement in December last year. However, discussing delivery times, costs, to technology transfer and crew training, makes negotiations take longer," said the source. .

The jets are a key component of General Atomics, Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Technologies Corp's $ 23 billion worth of high-tech weapons sales to the UAE this fall.

"Regarding the sale of 18 drones, it was signed in a separate agreement. This is the second largest drone sale for a single country. There was no confirmation of the delivery of the F-35 jets, but the initial proposal said the delivery would take place in 2027," the source added.

There was no immediate comment from the US State Department and the UAE Embassy in Washington regarding the news of the signing.