2026-09-18T07:38:49.402Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
作者：劳拉·沙曼
21分钟前
发布于 2026年9月18日 美国东部时间3:38
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2026年1月，工作人员在原罗斯福路海军基地的美国空军F-35“闪电II”战机旁作业。
伊娃·玛丽·乌斯卡泰吉/路透社
特朗普政府周四宣布，已批准向沙特阿拉伯出售一批价值数十亿美元的F-35战机，以提升这个海湾盟友的军事能力，应对中东地区战争扩大的威胁。
根据美国国务院周四发布的一份声明，此次拟售的“闪电II”联合攻击战斗机及相关装备总价预计达243亿美元。
声明称，沙特阿拉伯申请购买48架常规起降型战机，以及49台普拉特·惠特尼F135-PW-100发动机。
国务院补充道：“此次拟售交易将支持美国的外交政策和国家安全目标，帮助这一重要非北约盟友提升安全水平，而该国是海湾地区政治稳定与经济发展的重要力量。”
如果生产和交付完成，沙特将成为中东地区继以色列之后第二个列装这款先进隐形战机的国家——此举可能改变整个地区的军事力量平衡，美国政府否认了这一说法。
根据美国政策，华盛顿必须确保以色列保持“定性军事优势”，实际上保证以色列获得比该地区其他阿拉伯国家更先进的美国武器。
国务院表示：“此次拟售的装备和支援服务不会改变该地区的军事平衡。”
本届政府已向国会正式通报了这项待批的军售案，国会现在必须批准该交易。
这一消息发布前数日，沙特的石油设施和军事基地遭到伊朗支持的也门胡塞武装袭击，此次升级事件威胁会扩大地区冲突。
相关报道 2026年4月8日，也门萨那，伊朗支持的胡塞武装支持者手持武器参加声援伊朗和黎巴嫩的集会。穆罕默德·瓦伊斯/法新社/盖蒂图片社/资料图
【深度报道】伊朗支持的胡塞武装沿红海海岸快速推进后，各方开始互相指责 阅读时长：6分钟
今年7月再度爆发的沙特与胡塞武装冲突中，胡塞武装的无人机和导弹袭击了沙特的石油综合体，扰乱了石油生产，并威胁到航运路线，引发了人们对油价的担忧。
据一位熟悉沙特想法的消息人士向美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）本月早些时候报道，领导也门十年内战的沙特联军曾表示将“坚决对抗胡塞武装的敌对行径”，沙特外交官近期也在寻求美国的支持以进行反击。
一名隶属于也门军方的高级消息人士告诉CNN，上周胡塞武装沿红海沿岸的沿海战略资产快速推进，也门将领们请求盟友沙特提供空中支援，但沙特并未出兵。
伊朗已实际控制霍尔木兹海峡，同时不断加强对曼德海峡的掌控，这现在可能推动油价进一步上涨，而此时距美国11月的中期选举仅剩数周。
国务院周四表示，此次拟售交易将提升沙特王国“威慑当前和未来威胁的能力”，并“增强其空中防御和对地自卫能力”。
沙特长期以来一直对洛克希德·马丁公司的这款战机感兴趣，并于2025年初直接向唐纳德·特朗普总统提出购买申请。特朗普在任期间将对沙特军售列为首要任务之一。
据路透社报道，2025年美国批准了一项价值近1420亿美元的对沙特军售方案，白宫称这是其历史上“规模最大的防务合作协议”。
由洛克希德·马丁公司应美国军方要求研发的F-35“闪电II”隐形战机，因其对敌方的优势被认为是全球最先进的战机。正如CNN此前报道的那样，它也是美国历史上最昂贵的武器项目。
美国有线电视新闻网的尼克·罗伯逊、凯瑟琳·马格拉莫、埃亚德·库尔迪、奥伦·利伯曼和扎卡里·B·沃尔为本报道提供了采访支持。
US approves potential $24 billion sale of F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia
2026-09-18T07:38:49.402Z / CNN
By Laura Sharman
21 min ago
PUBLISHED Sep 18, 2026, 3:38 AM ET
The Middle East National security
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Personnel work on US Air Force F-35 Lightning II fighter jets at the former Roosevelt Roads naval base in January, 2026.
Eva Marie Uzcategui/Reuters
The Trump administration said Thursday it has approved a potential multi-billion dollar sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, bolstering the Gulf ally’s military capacity amid the threat of an expanding war in the Middle East.
The US State Department announced the proposed sale of the Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft and related equipment, worth an estimated $24.3 billion, according to a State Department statement on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia requested to buy 48 of the fighter jets with conventional takeoff and landing, plus 49 Pratt & Whitney F135-PW-100 engines, the statement said.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a major non-NATO ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in the Gulf region,” the department added.
If production and delivery is completed, Saudi Arabia would become only the second country in the Middle East to operate the advanced stealth fighters alongside Israel – potentially altering the balance of military power across the region, a claim the US government denies.
Under US policy, Washington is required to ensure Israel maintains a “qualitative military edge,” effectively guarantying it gets more advanced US weapons than other regional Arab states.
“The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the military balance in the region,” the State Department said.
The administration has given formal notification of the pending sale to Congress, which must now approve the sale.
The news comes just days after Saudi oil facilities and military bases came under attack by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, in an escalation that threatens to widen the region’s conflicts.
Related article Supporters of the Iran-backed Houthis are seen with their weapons at a rally in solidarity with Iran and Lebanon, in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 8, 2026. Mohammed Huwais/AFP/Getty Images/File Blame game begins after Iran-backed Houthis’ lightning advance down Red Sea coast 6 min read
The Saudi-Houthi conflict, which flared up again in July, has seen Houthi drones and missiles attack its oil complexes, disrupting operations and threatening supply routes amid concerns about oil prices.
The Saudi-led grouping that has been fighting the Houthis during Yemen’s decade-long civil war has said it will “resolutely confront (the Houthis’) hostile approach,” with Saudi diplomats recently seeking Washington’s backing to push back, according to a source familiar with Saudi thinking, as CNN reported earlier this month.
Last week, the Houthis made a rapid advancement on coastal assets along the Red Sea that are key to shipping, with Yemeni generals pleading for backup air support from their ally Saudi Arabia, who was nowhere to be found, a senior Yemeni source attached to their military forces told CNN.
Iran’s effective control of the Strait of Hormuz plus its tightening grip on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait now threatens to push oil prices even higher, weeks before November’s midterm elections in the United States.
The State Department said Thursday the proposed sale will improve the kingdom’s “capability to deter current and future threats” and “enhance its air-to-air, and air-to-ground self-defense capability.”
Saudi Arabia has long been interested in Lockheed Martin’s fighter, making a direct appeal for the jets in early 2025 to President Donald Trump, who has made arms sales to Saudi Arabia a top priority while in office.
In 2025, the US approved an arms package worth nearly $142 billion for the kingdom, which the White House described as “the largest defense cooperation agreement” in its history, according to Reuters.
The F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter, developed by Lockheed at the request of the US military, is considered the world’s most advanced fighter jet because of its advantages against adversaries. It is also the most expensive weapons program in US history, as CNN has reported.
CNN’s Nic Robertson, Kathleen Magramo, Eyad Kourdi, Oren Liebermann and Zachary B. Wolf contributed reporting.