Tag Archives: Khalid bin Salman Al Saud

Is it a bird, it is Superman?

Nope, it is a plane and it is heading for Saudi Arabia as we read (at https://aviationa2z.com/index.php/2025/11/08/saudi-arabia-to-buy-48-f-35-worth-142-billion/) ‘Saudi Arabia to Buy 48 Most Expensive Fighter Jet in the World Worth $142 Billion’, as such the first hurdle of the Pentagon has allegedly been passed. We are given “Saudi Arabia’s request for F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters is reportedly progressing within the Pentagon, according to sources cited by Reuters. The move could make Riyadh (RUH) the first Arab nation to field a fifth-generation stealth jet, breaking Israel’s exclusive control of the platform in the region.” And let’s face it, they can afford these bad boys. And it would make any Russian equipped Iranian flight force obsolete. Some say the best air force is one you never have to fly. I disagree. I say  “I prefer the air force  you only have to fly once. That’s how the veterans did it, that’s how allies do it, and it’s worked out pretty well so far” (yes, I stole this quote from Iron Man, so sue me) it is like Australia being attacked by New Zealand in Sopwith Camels in the past, it never went anywhere. As such these 48 birds will await with baited breath for Iran to make a silly mistake and it will be the last mistake they will ever make. I reckon that these 48 can take on at least 98 of their Sukhoi Su-57 and Russia (at present) seemingly only made 29 of them, the rest is outstanding, as such Iran will no longer have options in the air as soon as the first set of these bad boys arrive. 

I never understood the reluctance to sell these planes to their own ally, but in the end it seems that Saudi Arabia is getting them. And when we see “The potential sale aligns with former U.S. President Donald Trump’s defense agenda, as his administration approved a $142 billion arms package for the Kingdom in May 2025. Although the F-35 was initially excluded, the latest discussions suggest it has now advanced to the Defense Secretary level, signaling renewed momentum.” This event started in 2017 and it appears that Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud (who was elected to this position in 2022) did not wander in the situation, as it seems he went in and got the job done. This is no attack on its predecessor as the American administration had been dragging its feet since day one (a presumption that I am making) but now the good news is flying all over the Arabian peninsula and as I see it a defeat by horse no show through Iran. 

In opposition I see “Tel Aviv has repeatedly emphasized its right to maintain military superiority under U.S. law, which restricts Washington from supplying equivalent systems to neighboring states”, I am in opposition here as Iran is the danger and Israel knows this. Saudi Arabia had been adamant on protecting its own borders and this will do this. And as I see it, the Israeli response is (seemingly) ludicrous. With “Israeli officials and defense analysts have voiced concern that F-35 deliveries to Saudi Arabia could erode this advantage. They warn that potential technology transfers to Russia, China, or Iran—however speculative—could compromise sensitive systems.” It is a decent preemptive fear to have, but as Iran is no friend of Saudi Arabia and handing any technology to Russia would only make it stronger seems to be a weird fear to have. I get that Israel has these fears but as Saudi Arabia needs its own borders secure, I reckon that this is too far fetched a fear to have. It’s like I would have a fear being attacked by Piranha’s, all whist the closest lake is miles away. 

So I reckon that there will be salutes and felicitations going all over Riyadh at present.

Have a great day and don’t have too many dreams on Australia being attacked by Sopwith Camels, they don’t have the range to make it from Wellington to Sydney.

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The world according to CNN

That is what happened a few hours ago. Whilst America is losing the hope of the people, its long time allies already have. And early this morning (it is Friday already here) we get ‘As US reliability falters, Saudi Arabia turns to a nuclear-armed ally’ (at https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/18/middleeast/pakistan-saudi-arabia-defense-allies-intl). Yet the larger setting is ignored. You see, they could have had that setting with China as well. The quote is “Khalid Mahmood, then Pakistan’s ambassador to Riyadh, requested an urgent meeting with King Fahd bin Abdulaziz. The Saudi monarch objected to the test, but nevertheless pledged to “support you more than you expect,” according to Mahmood. The very next day, Pakistan was promised $3.4 billion in Saudi financial support, funds that helped Islamabad proceed with a second nuclear test, the ambassador said.” This setting is good news for Pakistan, yet as I see it, it is a larger door opening for China to get its Mighty Dragon (Chengdu J-20) to another country as well. I saw this opening happening about 2 years ago in ‘Ding Ding, the premise is set’ on May 27th 2023. I had made the reference at least once before that, but that was the moment I saw that China had a real chance to break through. As America is now less of an ally it had ever been, it is less reliable (also a lot more broke) and as it seemingly caters to Russia, Saudi Arabia is now handing over a contemplation of a different nature. Saudi Arabia is ready to do business with other players and CNN set this to the setting of “So when Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a mutual defense agreement on Wednesday, it reignited speculation over whether Riyadh might now formally fall under Islamabad’s nuclear umbrella. “This is a comprehensive defensive agreement that encompasses all military means,” a Saudi official told Reuters.” I see this as another setting where Iran better start playing the gracious nation and stops playing the kid with a tantrum. Israel showed it has had enough of Hamas and it struck out to Qatar, a setting we would not have imagined a year ago (at least I never saw it coming) and now that the Saudi Arabia is seeking a more robust defense setting. We might see that it is merely a form of “Islamabad’s nuclear umbrella” but this prolly covers a lot more than you might think and that is also the door that China will consider for additional conversations. And whilst we consider that Qatar opened that door (which is not without reason) CNN gives us “The deal includes defense industry collaboration, technology transfer and military co-production, according to Jamal Al Harbi, the media attaché at the Saudi embassy in Islamabad. Writing in Arab News Pakistan, a Saudi state-linked outlet, he added that “capacity-building and training” were also part of the agreement.

While the senior Saudi official said the deal was “years” in the making, its timing – just a week after an unprecedented Israeli attack on neighboring Qatar, a staunch US ally – suggests that Riyadh is looking beyond Washington to bolster its defenses after decades of near-total reliance on American protection.” And it is clear that the hidden message is “after decades of near-total reliance on American faltering protection”. One missing word gives the whole statement a near complete setting for China to knock on the door of minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud to see if he has space for a few stray Mighty Dragons, these beasts go per squadron and they like the warm sands of Saudi Arabia (just a speculation on how that conversation might go). 

As such CNN took a trip through memory lane, we are given “In a September 2023 interview with Fox News, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said Riyadh could shift “their armament from America to another place.” A strong Saudi Arabia, he said, meant a strong America. “You don’t want that to be shifted.” When Trump returned to the White House, Saudi Arabia placed renewed hopes in him.” And as I see it, the massive shifts that Washington gave the world, it is seemingly time for Saudi Arabia to seek other settings and as I see it, I reckon that the UAE is not far behind it is speculation, but the setting that Nvidea now sees with China, is a larger setting that America is on a setting where soon it cannot pay the bills that are coming and when that reveille comes playing several players are under the assumption that it will be a bad day to be the ally that is totally depending on America. Jensen Huang told BBC News the US needs “to make sure that people can access this technology from all over the world, including China.” He added: “The advance of human society is not a zero-sum game.” But that is his version, President Trump does not see it that way and here we see that Saudi Arabia is seeing a different development and soon, so will China. And as this happens I reckon that the UAE is not far behind. As we were given in the near past “The UAE is embracing change, building on its $1 trillion economic relationship with the US and welcoming the future of AI and advanced technology” and the UAE wants that, but at present there are more and more clouds of doom over America and I reckon that both Saudi Arabia and the UAE need the assurances that America is no longer able to give (highly speculative). This is how I see this evolve and when this happens people like Jensen Huang will seek a new dialogue with president Xi and with China as a larger whole. 

So is this the world according to CNN? I am not certain but that setting makes sense to me and ‘making sense’ is presently not coming from America, that much is certain. As such we need to see that Pakistani setting in a beginning of an altering defense spending intent and as I see it Pakistan is fine with that setting as it will almost guarantee that Pakistan will profit by that link as much as it could hope. 

Have a great day, to apparently is about to become the weekend (it follows Friday) have a great weekend.

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