United States intelligence officials are sounding alarms over a major pending arms agreement with Saudi Arabia. They fear Beijing could gain access to top-secret F-35 fighter jet technology through Riyadh. The multibillion-dollar deal involves the sale of 48 advanced stealth aircraft to the Gulf nation. This transaction has remained pending since November 2025. American intelligence personnel voiced these crucial security warnings on Wednesday in a report published by The New York Times.

Washington officials worry about two main espionage vectors. China might obtain sensitive military hardware data through state-sponsored espionage. Alternatively, Beijing could secure secrets via its expanding military and security partnership with Saudi Arabia. Intelligence agencies raised identical concerns during the initial announcement of the massive aircraft package.

A Defence Department intelligence assessment outlines strict safeguards for the proposed aircraft transfer. A Pentagon intelligence report on the issue, the NYT reported, said that the F-35 technology storage sites should be restricted to US and Saudi personnel. However, defence analysts express serious scepticism regarding Riyadh's willingness to enforce such terms. Experts doubt Saudi leaders will limit routine interactions with the Chinese armed forces. They also questioned whether Saudi Arabia would remove equipment from Chinese firms from its telecommunications and router infrastructure.

The State Department, the Defence Department, and the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington refused to offer commentary to reporters. The White House and the Chinese Embassy didn’t respond to media requests.

The potential sale creates severe geopolitical friction across the Middle East. American leadership first evaluated the proposal in 2025 alongside domestic strategic priorities. The plan triggered immediate alarm regarding the balance of regional military dominance. Israel remains the sole power in the Middle East operating advanced F-35 fleets. Israeli forces deployed these stealth fighters during combat sorties against targets in Iran in October 2024 and June 2025.

American foreign policy legally mandates the protection of Israeli defence superiority. Since the 1973 war, Washington lawmakers have systematically guaranteed Israel's military advantage over neighbouring states. Federal legislation mandates that the United States ensure Israel can defeat any “credible conventional military threat” while suffering minimal damage and casualties. This legal obligation complicates the approval process for high-tech transfers to neighbouring regional powers.