The Joe Biden administration notified the US Congress of its decision to sell a $ 23.37 billion arms shipment to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), US congressional officials said on Monday. April 13.

The deal includes 50 F-35 stealth fighters, 18 MQ-9B armed drones (UAVs), and air-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles.

A State Department spokesperson said the Biden administration would execute the deal while “continuing a detailed assessment and consultation with UAE officials” on how the weapons were used.

The initial negotiated terms indicated that the UAE could receive the first F-35 by 2027.

The Biden administration in late January suspended a series of arms sales initiated under former President Donald Trump, including a contract of more than $ 23 billion with the UAE to review and demonstrate a commitment to “transparency. and good governance “.

The arms deal with the UAE has been opposed by many bipartisan lawmakers, on the grounds that they could be used in the war in Yemen, the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The US Senate last year tried to block the deal but failed.

The decision also made the UAE the first Arab country and the second Middle East country to own the F-35 after Israel. Israeli officials have repeatedly expressed concerns about the possibility of the US selling the F-35 stealth fighter to Arab countries, saying it would affect the balance of military power in the region.

However, Tel Aviv expressed no objection to the deal passed by the Biden administration.

The F-35 is the fifth generation stealth fighter in the United States, along with the F-22 they are the only fifth generation aircraft to enter service.

Representatives of Russia, China, and Japan are still in the experimental and final stage.

Despite its reputation, training tests show that the F-35s are formidable fighters and have excellent combat prowess.

Against famous fourth-stance fighters such as the US F-15, French Rafale and European Typhoon, the F-35 often wins overwhelming. Currently the F-35 has been produced in numbers in the thousands. with all three versions A, B, C.

The F-35 was developed from the X-35 under the Joint Attack Fighter Project (JSF), which is a single-seat fighter, capable of stealth, multipurpose, real missions include: air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat.

The F-35 was designed and built by an aerospace industrial complex led by Lockheed Martin with other members BAE Systems and Northrop Grumman.

The F-35 made its maiden flight on December 15, 2006, making it the second stealth fighter in the world.

In terms of specifications, the F-35 has a length of 15.67m; wingspan 10.7m; 4.33m height; wing surface area 42.7m2; unladen weight 13,200kg; loaded weight 22,470m2; the largest take-off weight 31,800kg.

The F-35 can reach a maximum speed of 1,930 km / h; Maximum flight range of 2,200km; combat radius of 1,100km; Wing lift 526 kg / m2.

In terms of weaponry, the F-35 fighter has 1 GAU-12 / U 25mm cannon mounted in the F-35A body with 180 rounds or mounted outside the wings as on the F-35B and F-35C versions with 220 bullets.

The aircraft can carry up to 3.5 tons of weapons in stealth mode, while in “monster” mode the F-35 can carry up to 10 tons of weapons including air-to-air, land-to-air and anti-aircraft missiles. ship to bombs.

In addition, it also owns a state-of-the-art electronic warfare system, helping to gain advantage over opponents.

The F-35 has had an impressive performance in Afghanistan and Syria, the fighter’s effectiveness in combat has somewhat defeated but earlier doubts about its strength.

Currently, the US continues to increase capacity of F-35 factories to hand over to customers.