Leveraging New Delhi – Riyadh linkages, keeping a hawk’s eye on F-35s integration into Saudi command structures will limit Pakistan’s advantage.
N. C. Bipindra
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to Washington DC recently led to one of the most significant defence announcements in recent years.
In a move long considered unlikely, United States has agreed to sell the Kingdom its most advanced fighter aircraft, F-35 Lightning II as part of a sweeping new security pact that the White House has described as a “major defence sale package.”
This agreement, years in the making, marks a turning point not only in US–Saudi relations but broader strategic environment in West Asia.
For United States, the pact is an attempt to re-anchor Saudi Arabia firmly within Western security architecture at a time when shifting allegiances is the norm, growing Chinese influence and an emboldened Iran.
For Riyadh, access to F-35 is a long-sought strategic prize, symbolising military modernisation, regional deterrence and closer military interoperability with Washington DC.
From Indian perspective, the announcement has raised a deeper question: given Saudi Arabia’s historically close security ties with Pakistan does the sale pose a hidden risk?
To understand the implications, it’s essential first to break down what the pact represents. The F-35 is not merely another fighter jet; it is a networked warfare ecosystem.
It fuses intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and combat capabilities into a single stealth platform unlike anything currently operating in West Asia.
For decades, US refused to supply it to any Arab nation to maintain Israel’s qualitative military edge. Washington DC’s readiness to support Riyadh’s acquisition marks a fundamental recalibration of regional power dynamics.
There are several reasons behind this shift. United States is seeking to regroup and consolidate its alliances in a region where Iranian influence continues to grow, Russia and China are expanding their diplomatic, economic and technological footprints.
Riyadh, under Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 ambition, is accelerating modernisation of its military, a process that requires sophisticated platforms like the F-35 to replace ageing legacy systems.
Although the US–Saudi deal is not formally tied to progress on a Saudi–Israel normalisation track, the agreement undeniably fits into Washington DC’s long-term strategic desire to stabilise West Asia through deeper defence linkages.
Yet the debate in India largely hinges on how this deal intersects with Saudi Arabia’s longstanding relationship with Pakistan and recently concluded security cover provided to Islamabad through a separate larger pact.
For decades, Pakistan has served as critical military partner for the Kingdom. Pakistani troops have been stationed in Saudi Arabia for training and internal defence duties.
Pakistani military professionals have played influential roles in shaping parts of Royal Saudi Land Forces and Saudi–Pakistani security partnership has often overlapped with Riyadh’s financial assistance to Islamabad during economic crises.
In Western strategic circles, speculation has long existed that Saudi funding played an indirect role in Pakistan’s nuclear programme. While such assertions remain unproven, they reflect the depth of a relationship shaped by geopolitical, ideological and economic interdependence.
This history understandably raises concerns in New Delhi. The question is not whether Pakistan could ever receive F-35 aircraft which seems to be impossible, given its deepening military alignment with China and Washington DC’s absolute unwillingness to risk fifth-generation technology falling into Beijing’s hands.
Instead, more realistic concern is whether Pakistan might gain indirect benefits from Saudi Arabia operating such cutting-edge systems.
On technology front, the risk of direct leakage is extremely low. The F-35 programme is protected by some of the world’s most stringent encryption, monitoring and access-control protocols.
Export versions supplied even to close US allies are deliberately configured with restricted capabilities and the aircraft’s software ecosystem is tightly controlled through remote management systems.
No country — not even Israel, UK or Japan — has access to full suite of F-35 source code. The US is unlikely to relax these controls for any West Asian state.
Still, Pakistan could indirectly benefit in limited ways. Its officers involved in training exchanges or deployments in Saudi Arabia might gain exposure to modern combat concepts, stealth-related tactical planning or NATO-style mission systems integration.
Such exposure does not translate into sensitive technical knowledge, but it could incrementally enhance Islamabad’s understanding of cutting-edge airpower operations.
Saudi Arabia’s integration of F-35s into its broader air-defence network could also offer Pakistan a window, however limited, into Western sensor fusion and early warning paradigms.
These are marginal tactical advantages, not transformative ones, but they do warrant close Indian observation.
Yet the landscape today is markedly different from the era in which Pakistan was Riyadh’s default security partner. Over the past decade, India’s relationship with Saudi Arabia has undergone an unprecedented transformation.
The Kingdom now sees New Delhi as a major economic partner, a reliable energy market, rising defence manufacturer and an increasingly influential political actor across Indo-Pacific and West Asia.
High-level political engagement between the two nations has intensified, bilateral counterterrorism cooperation is stronger than ever and Saudi investment in India including through the Public Investment Fund, has grown significantly.
This shift has not gone unnoticed in Islamabad. While Pakistan once relied on automatic Saudi support, it now faces a more transactional, interest-driven Saudi foreign policy.
As Riyadh deepens ties with stronger economies and emerging powers, Pakistan’s leverage has diminished. This means that while Pakistan will remain a partner for Saudi Arabia, it no longer holds the privileged position it once enjoyed.
For India, the new US–Saudi pact therefore presents a complex but not necessarily adverse scenario. The deal is a reminder that West Asia’s strategic landscape is rapidly evolving with major powers and regional players recalibrating their roles.
India should approach these changes with cautious realism rather than anxiety. The F-35 sale does not pose a direct threat to India’s security, nor does it empower Pakistan in any significant military sense.
What it does signal is the need for New Delhi to continue strengthening its presence and partnerships in West Asia.
India now has the opportunity to deepen defence cooperation with Saudi Arabia, expand joint training programmes and position its growing defence manufacturing sector as a credible supplier to Gulf militaries seeking diverse procurement options.
New Delhi can also leverage its strong relationship with Washington DC to ensure that Indo-Pacific and West Asian strategic frameworks remain mutually reinforcing and not on competition mode.
Ultimately, US–Saudi F-35 pact is a strategic development that India cannot ignore, but neither should it overreact to it.
National interest increasingly shapes the Kingdom’s decision-making than historical loyalties and India today offers Riyadh far more economic and geopolitical value than Pakistan does.
Nevertheless, New Delhi must remain vigilant, closely monitoring how Saudi–Pakistan defence cooperation evolves, F-35s integration into the Kingdom’s command structures and regional military balances continue to shift.
The world is entering an era where alliances are fluid, interests are transactional and military technologies are redefining power.
India’s best response is a combination of strategic engagement, diplomatic agility and sustained presence across West Asia; ensuring that its interests remain protected, its partnerships continue to grow, and its regional influence steadily expands even amidst major geopolitical shifts.
(Author is Chairman, Law and Society Alliance, a New Delhi-based think tank, and guest columnist with CIHS)