The United Arab Emirates' ambassador to Washington said he was confident the sale of F-35 jets to his country would go through after a review by President Joe Biden's administration of some pending arms sales to US allies.
During Donald Trump's last day in office, the UAE signed agreements to buy up to 50 F-35 jets, 18 armed drones and other defence equipment in a deal worth $23 billion.
The US Department of Defence agreed with Lockheed Martin to build about 375 F-35 fighter jets over three years. This Pentagon-supplied photo shows a US Air Force F-35 Lightning II being refuelled over Poland in February 2022.
A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning jet at the ILA Berlin Air Show 2022 in Schoenefeld, Germany, 22 June 2022. EPA
A Lockheed Martin F-35C Joint Strike Fighter is shown on the deck of the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier. Reuters
An Israeli Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jet performing at the Hatzerim base in the Negev desert, near the southern city of Beer Sheva, Israel. AFP
A US F-35 fighter jet flies over the Eifel Mountains near Spangdahlem, Germany on February 23, 2022. AP
F-35C Lightning IIs on a test flight in the Atlantic test range. The programme is now the most expensive in US military history. Lockheed has pledged to cut costs. AFP
Lockheed Martin's F-35 helped the company boost profit in the first quarter. Reuters
Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 is America's next-generation stealth fighter jet. Reuters
Three F-35A Lightning IIs assigned to the 4th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron taxi after landing at Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE. Photo: US Air Force
A Lockheed Martin F-35A fighter jet on a training mission in Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Bloomberg
An RAF F-35B Lightning 11 supersonic stealth strike fighter, built by the US plane maker Lockheed Martin, touches down in the UK. Getty
An F-35 Lightning II, built by Lockheed Martin, at the Joint Reserve Base, Fort Worth, Texas. AFP
A US F-35A stealth fighter jet at an unspecified location. EPA
A formation of US Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jets perform aerial maneuvers during as part of a combat power exercise. Reuters
A US F-35A fighter jet prepares to land at Chungju Air Base in Chungju, South Korea. AP
"We did everything by the book and they will discover that once the review is complete and it will proceed," Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba told an online Washington Institute forum on Monday, describing the review as "pro forma".
Last month, a US State Department official said Mr Biden's administration was temporarily pausing the implementation of some pending arms sales to US allies to review them.
"Everything is still proceeding while undergoing a review at the same time. I am confident it will end up in the right place," Mr Otaiba said.
"If you are going to have less of a presence and less involvement in the Middle East you can't at the same time take tools away from your partners who are expected to do more," he said.
The F-35 arose from the US "joint strike fighter" programme, which called for a multi-purpose stealth combat aircraft capable of vertical take-off. This followed decades of research into aircraft with a small radar signature, arising from the need to launch strike missions deep into enemy territory, where US adversaries were using increasingly powerful radar systems to detect conventional planes.
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The F-35 is also considered unique by aviation analysts because of its ability to network with other aircraft and military systems using powerful onboard computers, giving pilots a highly detailed overview of real-time threats on the battlefield.