China’s history of stealing F-35 technology is sparking a critical debate among U.S. military experts and officials regarding the potential sale of advanced fighter jets to Saudi Arabia. Senior retired military commanders, including former Air Force General Charles Wald, have raised significant concerns about the risk of Chinese intelligence penetrating U.S. defense programs and the potential exploitation of the F-35’s advanced capabilities.
Wald, who served as a deputy commander of EUCOM, stated that the U.S. had already turned down requests from the United Arab Emirates and Turkey for F-35 sales due to the risk of technology leaking to China. He expressed that while Saudi Arabia might not directly hand over the jets to China, the nation’s intelligence capabilities could still pose a significant threat.