How Huawei and Russia are Influencing UAE F-35 Deal with America?

It is no secret that the F-35 fighter deal to the UAE is politically sensitive, tied up with questions about the UAE’s military actions in Yemen and maintaining Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge in the region. But the impact of Russia and China, America’s great power competitors, on the question of the sale is a growing factor that can’t be ignored. For several months, rumors have abounded that the Biden administration is holding up movement on the F-35 sale — cleared in the literal last hours of the Trump administration — unless the Emiratis agreed to terminate a 5G contract with Chinese technology firm Huawei. On the record, officials from both the UAE and the US have avoided confirming that situation. However, ahead of the Dubai Airshow, when all three major powers are expected to show of their wares to the Middle Eastern market, a reliable UAE military source tells Breaking Defense that Emirati leadership understands the severing of ties with Huawei to be a red line on moving the F-35 deal forward. “It is very unlikely the UAE will do so,” he said. “The [UAE] leadership is now ignoring the Biden admin and letting the defense companies and its lobby do their work on the Hill.” Asked directly by Breaking Defense whether the US was conditioning the F-35 sale on Huawei, Mira Resnick, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for regional security, said that the United States has made clear to the UAE and other partners that “untrusted vendors represent a threat to their own security [and] to US security. “We are working with with partners around the world to look at other options there to make sure that their security can be maintained,” she said during the Nov. 12 exclusive interview. While noting the US is “fully committed” to moving forward to the sale, Resnick added that “I think that there are a number of obligations when it comes to technology security, that the UAE must be able to provide assurances on and and we are looking for clarification of those assurances.” Her comments underscore that Huawei’s presence as the primary 5G provider for the UAE would enable the Chinese to possible steal American technology, including from the highly-networked F-35. “The Biden administration went as far as requesting Abu Dhabi to choose between the Chinese technology and the F-35,” said Fadi Assaf, co-founder of Beirut-based consultancy Middle East Strategic Perspectives (MESP). “This issue seems nonnegotiable,” he added. “How would Abu Dhabi deal with it? Will it look for alternatives or offer guaranties?” If the US is holding firm on a no-Huawei line for the F-35, “The UAE will have to follow suit of UK in giving up the Huawei 5G contract with China in favor of joining the F-35 club for national security purposes,” said Kuwaiti defense expert Ali Al Hashim. The UK’s mobile providers are being banned from buying new Huawei 5G equipment after Dec. 31, and they must also remove all the Chinese firm’s 5G kit from their networks by 2027. From its end, the UAE has attempted to quiet concerns regarding the overall F-35 deal. In a clear message a year ago, Ambassador to Washington Youssef Al Otaiba said in a tweet: “There has never been a report of US technology being diverted to an adversary by the UAE. For more than 20 years, the US has entrusted the UAE to purchase and operate F-16s, Patriots, THAAD and many other of the most advanced US-supplied defense systems.” Getting the F-35 isn’t just a matter of upgrading the UAE’s military. There is also a major prestige factor at stake; the UAE has long thought of themselves as the likely first Arab recipient of the jet, and they cannot imagine being excluded from the program, said Assaf. “They consider themselves as totally legitimate,” said Assaf. “The UAE is the US’s closest Arab ally and is now deepening its partnership with Israel, sharing with both countries most of their strategic concerns and geopolitical priorities. Enhancing interoperability with their allies is, too, a high priority for their Armed Forces.” Hence, the UAE is motivated to make the deal happen — and there are plenty of supporters in Washington, thanks to the industrial impact and a desire to keep the Emiratis closely tied to US strategic interests. As a result, said Bilal Saab, a former Pentagon official now director of the defense and security program at the Middle East Institute, “When the political dust settles in Washington, I expect Emirati fighter pilots to be operating a variant of the F-35 some time in the next few years.” Prime contractor Lockheed Martin, unsurprisingly, remains fully committed to the program, showcasing a full-scale model of the F-35 jet at the Dubai air show taking place here. “We see strong global interest in the F-35 and look for opportunities at trade shows to showcase why the F-35 is the most advanced, capable and affordable aircraft available, as the only 5th generation fighter,” a Lockheed Martin spokesperson told Breaking Defense.