The UAE is suspending discussions with the US government to acquire F-35 fighter jets over “sovereignty operational restrictions”, an Emirati official said on Tuesday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the UAE official said discussions over the sale, part of a $23 billion deal that also includes drones and other advanced munitions, are on hold as the country reassesses requirements.
“The UAE has informed the US that it will suspend discussions to acquire the F-35,” the official said.
“Technical requirements, sovereign operational restrictions and cost-benefit analysis led to the reassessment.”
The official, however, remained cautiously optimistic before a US-UAE defence dialogue on Wednesday that these issues can be resolved at a future date.
“The UAE and the US were working towards an understanding that would address mutual defence security conditions for the acquisition. The US remains the UAE’s preferred provider for advanced defence requirements and discussions for the F-35 may be reopened in the future,” the official said.
The outstanding issue, a person with knowledge of the deal told The National, is not related to the UAE’s ties with China but rather to sovereignty matters in the deal that the UAE has raised and that the two sides are trying to resolve.
A US State Department official said President Joe Biden's administration remains committed to the sale.
“The Biden-Harris administration remains committed to the proposed sales of F-35 aircraft, the MQ-9B [drone] and munitions even as we continue consultations to ensure that we have a clear, mutual understanding of Emirati obligations and actions before, during and after delivery,” the official told The National.
“We are hopeful that we can work through any outstanding issues and we look forward to the US-UAE Joint Military Dialogue later this week.”
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby emphasised the strategic nature of the US-UAE relationship.
“The US partnership with the UAE is more strategic and more complex than any one weapons sale. We are committed to working with the UAE to address their and our questions with respect to this sale,” Mr Kirby said.
He added, however, that the US insists as a matter of statutory requirements and policy on a variety of end-user requirements.
“That's typical. And these end-user requirements and protection of US defence equipment are universal, non-negotiable and not specific to the UAE,” Mr Kirby said.
Asked if the issue will come up at Wednesday's dialogue, Mr Kirby said that is not the intent of the meeting.
“It was designed to talk about the broad scope of our defence relationship with the UAE. But I would anticipate that this would be something that we would take advantage of, the opportunity to talk with them about their concerns, as well as sharing our concerns about the sale.”
Last year, the State Department announced its intention to sell up to 50 F-35 jets to the UAE, setting the nation on its way to becoming the first Arab country to acquire one of the most advanced weapons systems ever built.
Manufactured by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 is America's next-generation stealth fighter jet. The sale of these 50 jets is valued at $10.4bn.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
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Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
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Investment raised: $4 million
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
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Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Profile of Whizkey
Date founded: 04 November 2017
Founders: Abdulaziz AlBlooshi and Harsh Hirani
Based: Dubai, UAE
Number of employees: 10
Sector: AI, software
Cashflow: Dh2.5 Million
Funding stage: Series A
Lexus LX700h specs
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Wydad 2 Urawa 3
Wydad Nahiri 21’, Hajhouj 90'
Urawa Antonio 18’, 60’, Kashiwagi 26’
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
