⁍ The United States and the UAE aim to have a letter of agreement for the F-35 jets in time for UAE National Day celebrated on Dec. 2.

---

⁍ Israel initially balked at the prospective sale but last week dropped its opposition.

---

⁍ Any deal must satisfy a longstanding agreement with Israel that any U.S. weapons sold in the region must not impair Israel’s ‘qualitative military edge

– The United Arab Emirates could soon be getting its own F-35 jets. The State Department has notified Congress that it has approved the sale of 50 of the fighter jets to the UAE, which is one of the US’ closest Middle East allies, in a deal that could be worth $10 billion, sources tell Reuters. The sale is expected to be approved by the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees, whose members have criticized the UAE’s role in civilian deaths in Yemen. Israel initially balked at the prospective sale but last week dropped its opposition after what it described as US guarantees that Israeli military superiority would be preserved. Any deal must satisfy a longstanding agreement with Israel that any US weapons sold in the region must not impair Israel’s ‘qualitative military edge,’ guaranteeing US weapons furnished to Israel are ‘superior in capability’ to those sold to its neighbors. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in an apparent allusion to Iran, told reporters on Thursday that “it was important that the (Israeli) defense establishment received this clear American undertaking to preserve our qualitative military edge.” Rep. Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, confirmed that an informal notification was sent to Congress on Thursday. “As Congress reviews this sale, it must be clear that changes to the status quo will not put Israel’s military advantage at risk,” he said.