What we know about the Marine Corps F-35 crash and hereโs how long it flew without a pilot
The crash of an F-35B Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in South Carolina over the weekend has raised numerous questions about what prompted the pilot to eject after experiencing a malfunction and how the $100 million warplane was able to keep flying pilotless for 60 miles before crashing.
US puts hold on foreign arms sales, including F-35s to UAE
The Biden administration has put a temporary hold on several major foreign arms sales initiated by former President Donald Trump. Air Force via AP)WASHINGTON โ The Biden administration has put a temporary hold on several major foreign arms sales initiated by former President Donald Trump. It called the pause โa routine administrative actionโ that most incoming administrations take with large-scale arms sales. In its waning months, the Trump administration authorized tens of billions of dollars in new arms sales, including announcing plans to send 50 F-35s to the UAE. Less than a month after the Nov. 10 UAE sale was announced, an effort to block the deal fell short in the Senate, which failed to halt it.
Senate falls short of halting Trump's $23B arms sales to UAE
But on Wednesday the effort to turn back the arms sales failed to reach the 51-vote majority needed for passage. The Senate will take up the broader defense bill soon. Israeli officials have previously expressed some concern about an F-35 sale. On Wednesday, senators narrowly rejected one resolution to disapprove of the F-35 sales, 47-49, and the other over the sale of armed drones, 46-50, in procedural votes largely along party lines. Even after Wednesday's setback, Congress is poised to approve the sweeping annual defense bill despite Trump's objections.
US plans sale of F-35 fighter jets to UAE in $23B arms deal
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he had authorized the sale in keeping with the administrationโs Middle East peace efforts. The notification to lawmakers follows the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel, Bahrain and the UAE, under which the Arab states have agreed to normalize relations with Israel. Israeli officials have previously expressed some concern about an F-35 sale because it could affect the balance of military power in the region. The sale, worth up to $23.37 billion, includes 50 F-35s, 18 advanced armed drone systems and a package of air-to-air and air-to-ground munitions. At the time Israeli officials denied they had agreed to the sale but later dropped public objections to it.