US intel warns China can steal F-35 jets secret from Saudis | Gravitas

As Houthis tighten their grip over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and continue to attack Saudi Arabia, Riyadh's woes are deepening.

According to reports, Saudi Arabia is now running low on missile interceptors, and doubts are growing whether it will get advanced F-35 jets from America.

In the latest from the battlefield, Saudi-backed Yemen armed forces released aerial footage of them targeting Houthi premises and equipment during strikes in several areas, including the port city of Mokha.

Houthis also accused Saudi Arabia of conducting fresh strikes in Yemen earlier in the day.

According to the group, Riyadh targeted three telecommunications towers in Taiz province and also struck the town of Abs.

It claimed that three children were killed and several others were wounded.

While Riyadh did not confirm these claims, it announced that a Houthi drone had been intercepted and destroyed in the city of Taif.

However, the falling debris of this drone reportedly led to the death of a Yemeni resident and left a Saudi woman and a Pakistani national injured.

Civilian buildings and vehicles were damaged as well.

A day earlier, Houthis claimed to have shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Yemen's Marib province.

Amid its battlefield reverses, a new report claimed that Saudi Arabia had reached out to France, UK, Pakistan and Egypt for emergency air defence support.

The outreach was initiated reportedly as its key ally America's own stock of interceptor missiles, has dwindled over the course of the Iran war.

This is not all.

According to the New York Times, US intelligence officers have expressed concerns over possible Chinese espionage in connection with the potential sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, worth nearly 24 billion US dollars.

In November 2025 itself, US President Donald Trump had hinted at an F-35 deal with Riyadh.

However, a report reportedly prepared by Pentagon's defence intelligence agency raised the possibility of China acquiring F-35 jet technology through spying or its partnership with Saudi.

Highlighting how Chinese military is helping Saudis build ballistic missiles and set up production facilities, the report cast aspersions on whether secure sites housing F-35 technology can be maintained.

It also questioned whether Riyadh will agree to limit contact with Chinese military and remove equipment of Chinese tech firms from telecommunications and defence installations.

Now, this is not the first time the US has proposed to sell these aircraft to its West Asian allies.

In 2020, for instance, Trump agreed for a similar deal with UAE.

However, the sale didn't go through, as US intelligence agencies raised concerns over UAE's growing ties with China back then.

Apart from this, the report suggested that some Israeli officials have also opposed the deal.

This is because Israel is the only country in West Asia at present which has F-35s, helping it maintain a qualitative military edge over others.

But, why is F-35 so significant?

It is considered as the world's most advanced and lethal fighter aircraft.

This fifth-generation jet is very difficult for enemy air defence systems to detect.

The aircraft is also packed with sensors, missiles and guided bombs.

Flying at 1,900 kilometres per hour, its systems can detect threats, identify targets and share data with other aircraft and forces.

As of now, it is used by 12 nations including US.

With US and Pakistan already refusing to provide military help in the war against Houthis, Saudi Arabia faces an uphill task in the battle for the Bab al-Mandeb strait…