Chinese threat looms over potential sales of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia

China’s aggressive campaign to steal American military technology is emerging as a central concern in the debate over whether the United States should sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, according to experts and retired military commanders.

(Ret.) Gen. Charles Wald, a former U.S. Air Force officer and former EUCOM deputy commander, said the United States has previously rejected the UAE and Turkey over concerns about exploiting Chinese technology.

“We told Turkey they would not get the F-35. We told the UAE they would not get it because there is concern that there will be a transfer of technology to China,” Wald said. “That would probably be the biggest problem if Saudi Arabia got the F-35… Not because they would give it to the Chinese. Because the Chinese could exploit intelligence through information, through getting capabilities, but I’m not as worried as some,” Wald said at a JINSA briefing this week.

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President Donald Trump welcomes Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, in Washington. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

China expert Gordon Chang said Beijing has already demonstrated the ability to penetrate U.S. defense programs and should be assumed to target the F-35 again. “We should assume that China already has everything. They already stole the entire plane once. They probably did it again,” Chang told Fox News Digital.

He argued that Washington needed to balance the strategic risks and benefits of strengthening ties with Riyadh. “We need to cement relations with the crown prince, especially if it helps him sign an Abraham Accord. Let him have stripped-down F-35s,” he said.

He added that other U.S. partners could present even greater concerns. “I’m much more worried about South Korea having the plane and handing over the plans to China.”

Chinese intelligence services have been involved for years in efforts to exploit U.S. military and aerospace technology, including stealth designs, propulsion systems and advanced avionics. U.S. officials have previously linked Chinese cyber actors to flights targeting key U.S. defense programs, including components resembling those found in fifth-generation fighters.

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An F-35A Lightning II assigned to Hill Air Force Base, Utah, prepares to be refueled by a 459th Air Refueling Wing KC-135 Stratotanker during a flight to Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Bulgaria, April 28, 2017. (US Air Force)

In this context, the United States is considering whether to approve Saudi Arabia’s F-35 request as part of a broader negotiation that includes defense guarantees and possible diplomatic progress with Israel.

(Ret.) Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said the United States uses foreign military sales monitoring protocols to reduce risks, but the protections are not perfect. “One of the things we do in Foreign Military Sales is the end-use case monitoring protocol,” Ashley said. “We monitor very closely how these types of advanced systems are used… but they are not absolute.”

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In this file photo released on April 12, 2018 by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks after reviewing the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy fleet in the South China Sea. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP, file)

Despite the Chinese threat, the retired commanders said they did not believe a Saudi acquisition of F-35s would undermine Israel’s qualitative military advantage.

Wald emphasized that Israeli pilots, planners and engineers maintain a higher level of training and innovation. “There is a big difference between the actual capability of Israeli pilots and that of other countries,” Wald said. He added that Israel had incorporated its own improvements into the plane. “The Israelis slightly modified their own F-35… they created or developed (additional capabilities) just before the attack on Iran.”

An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet flies overhead during an air show in Tel Aviv on April 26, 2023. (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

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Wald noted that even if approved, Riyadh would not receive the plane for years. “At a minimum, there’s probably about a five-year window before that happens if they get the F-35,” he said.

Ashley and Wald said that in the long term, additional F-35s in the region could improve common situational awareness and strengthen collective defenses against Iran. Retired Vice Admiral Mark Fox said the fighter’s data-sharing architecture means more aircraft in allied hands improves overall performance. “The one thing about the F-35 is that it communicates with all the other F-35s,” Fox said. “Having more F-35s in the region actually increases the capabilities of the coalition.”