US to Sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia in $24.3 Billion Deal

The State Department notified Congress that it plans to sell Saudi Arabia up to 48 F-35 warplanes in a first-time sale that could be worth as much as $24.3 billion. The sale of the Lockheed Martin Corp. fighter jet to Saudi Arabia has been in the works for a number of years. President Donald Trump signaled in November the US would sell F-35s to the Kingdom, offering Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a prize he's long cherished, ahead of a visit to the White House that month. Meantime, the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin Corp. are moving to speed up the production of a new classified air-to-air missile for US Air Force and Navy jets that's seen as vital to deterring China. For more, we speak with Wayne Sanders, Senior Defense Research Analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence.