If SA does buy them the conditions should be the same for any other partner, what Israel wants shouldn't factor. SA will pay top money, IMO its the wrong move, SA should pivot to China buy J35s.
No US weaponry that KSA has ever bought, including top tier weapons back in the day (AWACS, F-15 etc.) had any restrictions. This likely, if approved, will neither.
Case in point there are numerous ballistic missile bases (based underground or created deep inside mountains) that have been created not far from Jordan/Israel across much of Northern KSA.
Here is an Israeli-based Zionist/Jew talking about it extensively with recent satellite imagery used as well:
The second or third largest air base in KSA is in Tabuk (King Faisal Air Base) in Northwestern KSA.
As far as normalization goes, KSA is one of the few countries in the world never to have normalized/recognized Israel since 1948. The KSA condition is publicly known for everyone involved, Israel included. If you want normalization with KSA you have to commit to a two-state solution.
As far as China goes, which KSA already has deep strategic ties with (economically and militarily - no Muslim state has closer economic ties with China than KSA),
that would require adopting a completely new infrastructure in the Air Force which is something that would take at least 10 years if not more. To educate all the necessary fighter pilots and make them familiar with Chinese systems, build new infrastructure, familiarize yourself with spare parts and various components, if like with the F-15 and other existing fighter jets in the KSA arsenal you want to be able to build some of the components in-house (let alone repairs which many are done inside KSA for a long time by KSA hands), bombs included.
In other words it is not something that is done overnight.
If you look past all of that, you also have to add the possibility of sanctions, KSA being cut off from key US military systems or the US creating difficulties with repairs of existing US systems (of course there are solutions to that such as in-house or black market etc. but far from ideal) potential economic sanctions that could be expanded to NATO/European partners under US pressure/blackmail etc.
Is that all worth it for a fighter jet (J35S) that is yet battle proven (from what I am aware of) and which most likely is inferior to the F-35SA version that KSA would get? Or almost with certainty inferior.
KSA is mainly focused on internal development. Industrial, economic, infrastructural, military, scientific etc. The last thing we need are sanctions or having really bad relations with superpowers. There is a reason why KSA's balancing act between West and East is working and KSA is reaping the benefits of this for now.
KSA positioning itself as one of the largest tourism destinations in the world as well.
A good overview of some of the ongoing giga projects in KSA.
Discover 10 biggest construction projects in Saudi Arabi - KSA , from the USD 500 billion NEOM project to the worlds tallest skyscraper, the Rise Tower.
www.blackridgeresearch.com
The Kingdom’s total number of mega-projects has surged from just 64 in 2010 to 476 by 2025,
placing it among the top three countries globally in terms of volume.
The report, titled
The Future of Major Programme Delivery, defines mega-projects as those valued at $1 billion or more, while giga-projects are classified as projects worth $10 billion or more.
Saudi Arabia currently shares second place with India for the number of giga-projects, with each country hosting 43 such developments. The United States ranks first globally, with 88 active or completed giga-projects.
Overall, the United States tops the rankings for combined mega and giga-projects with 1,663, followed by India (729), Saudi Arabia (577), and the United Kingdom (484). The United Arab Emirates ranks seventh with 233 projects.
The kingdom recorded a 643% increase in mega-projects over the past 15 years
fastcompanyme.com
In terms of tourism:
For geopolitical and international image purposes
www.atalayar.com
A quote from the article:
In the first quarter of 2025, Saudi Arabia stood out as the nation with the highest increase in international tourism revenue globally. This growth reflects not only a determined strategy to diversify the economy through large tourism projects, but also an effort to strengthen its presence and alliances on the international stage.
Record high in international tourism
According to the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) World Tourism Barometer, published in May 2025, the Saudi kingdom experienced a 102% increase in international tourist arrivals compared to the same period in 2019. This percentage far exceeds the global average of 3% and the regional average of 44% in the Middle East, consolidating Saudi Arabia as a key player in the global tourism sector.
Don't forget that KSA is going to host the Asian Winter Games (2029), EXPO (2030), Asian Games (2034), FIFA World Cup (2034) to just mention a few upcoming global events.
Trying to mess up your relationship with one of your closest, oldest and most important partners (that is an important partner in the HUGE AI push that KSA is taking - forgot even covering AI) for a Chinese fighter jet, would be absolute madness looking at least 10 years ahead.
As far as 6th generation fighter jets, that is another question. From what I am aware of there (as of now) will only be 2 real 6th generation fighter jets and both will be US and Chinese. But we are talking about the 2030's here and before any of them would want to export their 6th generation fighter jets, they will be building/close to finalizing their 7th generation fighter jets!
