The United Arab Emirates reportedly signed an agreement to purchase 50 F-35s and 18 advanced Reaper drones from the US in what was President Donald Trump’s final hour in the White House.
Democrats in Congress had sought last month to thwart what has been widely viewed as a side-agreement to the Israeli-UAE normalization deal brokered by the US. However, opponents failed to gain enough support on the Hill and the deal moved forward, leading to Wednesday’s signing reported by Reuters.
Shortly after the announcement of Abu Dhabi’s decision to normalize ties with Israel, reports emerged that in light of the agreement, the United States, which brokered the deal, had agreed to sell the fifth-generation fighter jet to the UAE, after years of denying requests to do so, largely over concerns that such a sale would negatively affect Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region, which Washington is legally bound to maintain.
Read more at Times of Israel.
{Matzav.com}
