Representatives and officials in the United States are currently raising concerns about the UAE selling the F-35 fighters, the crown jewel in the American arms industry, due to fears that the secrets of this advanced military aircraft might fall into the hands of Washington’s opponents.
US lawmakers and officials say that the UAE has suspicious relations with Washington’s opponents and cooperates with them on several fronts. There is Yemen and Libya, and they strongly suggest Russia, which is linked with Abu Dhabi with an alliance to support rebel leader Khalifa Haftar in Libya.
The leak to Russia
According to Russian media, members of the US Congress are desperate to stop the plans to sell the American multi-purpose fighter to the Emirates, based on American fear that the UAE could share the fighter’s secrets with the Russian side, especially that revealing the F-35 secrets to Russia could help in training Russian equipment on how to drop it in various combat conditions.
Senator Jim Risch, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, raised concerns about the proposed sale and its impact on US technology security.
“Any potential arms sales must be subject to congressional consultations on fulfilling our obligations and meeting other requirements of the Arms Export Control Act,” the senator told the committee recently.
A prominent member of the Senate said that he remains skeptical about the possible sale to the UAE, while Joel Rubin, head of the Washington Strategic Group and former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration, said: “Foreign military sales are a diplomatic tool used to strengthen our relations, but it cannot come at the expense.” Our security. “
“When the United States engages in military sales with foreign governments, we do so on the basis that our military technology will not be used to help our adversaries,” Robin told Fox News.
“In the case of the UAE as well as with any other country, we must ensure that they protect our technology. In this case, the F-35 is the jewel in the crown, and we do not share it with our opponents,” he added.
According to American reports, the UAE has extensive intertwined relations with the adversaries of the United States, as it recently purchased a low-altitude laser defense system that can be used to target drones from China, and other reports reveal its cooperation with Moscow to develop fifth-generation fighters.
UAE precedents
A CNN investigation has already revealed that the weapons that Washington sold to the Emirates to participate in the Yemen war ended up in the hands of Al Qaeda and the Houthi group.
According to the investigation, the UAE provided weapons to militant groups and militias close to Al Qaeda and has a wide relationship with them in southern Yemen.
CNN revealed in its investigation last year that large numbers of American armored vehicles were in areas under the control of the Houthis and others controlled by Al Qaeda in Yemen.
A US Defense Department official told the network that the Pentagon had already opened an investigation into the American weapons that reached Al Qaeda.
On the other hand, media reports revealed that the UAE sent American “Javelin” missiles to the leader of the Libyan rebellion, Khalifa Haftar.
As a result, members of Congress called for an official investigation into the arrival of American weapons to fuel the conflict in Libya,
and the American “New York Times” reported that the forces loyal to the Government of National Accord had found four American “Javelin” missiles at a base used by members of the forces of the renegade brigade. Khalifa Haftar.
The newspaper stated that the marks registered on the American missiles indicate that they were sold to the UAE in 2008.
The UAE’s precedents in leaking US armored vehicles and missiles to terrorist and rebel entities remain a prominent sign of what might happen if the F-35’s secrets were leaked to a strong opponent from Washington’s opponents … as US lawmakers see that Washington’s security may be threatened and it may lose its supremacy if the UAE reveals secrets. The “F-35” to any of Washington’s opponents.
