US intelligence assessments of the proposed $24 billion F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia focused on the risk that sensitive technologies could become accessible to China.
US intelligence officials warned that China could gain access to F-35 technology through espionage activities in Saudi Arabia or through military and security cooperation with the country.
A study prepared several months ago by the Defense Intelligence Agency, which is affiliated with the Pentagon, examined China’s access to military bases in Saudi Arabia and Riyadh’s use of Chinese technology in its telecommunications infrastructure.
The assessment also questioned whether Washington and Riyadh could sustainably maintain secure facilities capable of protecting sensitive technologies in the F-35 program.
The study was sent, along with analyses by other intelligence agencies, to some institutions within the US administration and congressional offices.
The Defense Intelligence Agency had also prepared a more comprehensive study containing similar concerns in fall 2025, when the administration was considering the possibility of selling a large number of F-35 aircraft to Saudi Arabia.