Washington has approved a potential foreign military sale of 48 F-35 Lightning II aircraft and related equipment to Saudi Arabia, a deal valued at approximately $24.3 billion. The State Department announced the approval two days ago, securing massive contracts for Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney, the primary beneficiaries of this transaction.
The extensive package includes 48 F-35 takeoff-and-landing jets, 49 Pratt & Whitney engines, advanced communications and cryptographic hardware, and electronic warfare support systems. It also covers training simulators and long-term technical and logistical services, ensuring a sustained revenue stream for the arms manufacturers. This isn't merely a sale of hardware; it's a long-term commitment of resources to the military-industrial complex.
Who Profits
Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney stand to gain immensely from this $24.3 billion transfer of wealth. These corporations, central to the U.S. military-industrial apparatus, secure their profits through the continuous production and sale of advanced weaponry. The State Department's approval funnels public and allied nation funds directly into the coffers of private capital, under the guise of national security. This transaction exemplifies the systematic underpayment of labor and privatization of collective resources, here manifested as the public purse funding private arms manufacturers.
The State's Role
The State Department justified the agreement by claiming it would advance U.S. foreign policy and national security goals. It stated the sale would strengthen a non-NATO ally in the Gulf region and enhance Saudi Arabia’s air-to-air and air-to-ground self-defense capabilities. Furthermore, officials claimed it would reinforce homeland defense and NATO forces. These pronouncements serve to legitimize the projection of military and economic power, securing resources and compliant governments for transnational corporations. The deal moved forward despite intelligence concerns within the U.S. government, a fact reported widely, indicating that profit motives often override internal warnings.
The State Department also asserted that the proposed sale would not alter the military balance in the region. It claimed there would be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness. Yet, the sale is explicitly placed in the context of broader Gulf security concerns and U.S.-Iran war tensions in the region. Fox News, in its live updates, repeated the aircraft count and valuation, directly tying the development to the wider conflict. This highlights how the state's actions, framed as defensive, are deeply intertwined with escalating imperial rivalries and the expansion of military capital. The state acts as a guarantor of these profits, ensuring the flow of advanced weaponry into volatile regions, thereby perpetuating the conditions for future sales and interventions.
Liberal Inadequacy
The official narrative presents the F-35 sale as a measure for regional stability and self-defense. However, the underlying structural facts reveal a different purpose. This massive arms transfer, occurring amidst U.S.-Iran war tensions, is not merely about defense. It is about maintaining an imperial garrison in a resource-rich region, ensuring the continued flow of oil and the dominance of U.S. capital. The "strengthening" of an ally serves to extend U.S. geopolitical influence, rather than genuinely promoting peace. Every such gain made within existing structures is temporary and reversible; structural change is the only lasting solution.