US President Donald Trump has wrapped up his three-nation Middle Eastern tour, inking investment agreements worth over USD 2 trillion in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. The historic deal-making spree spanned areas as diverse as defense, aviation, and artificial intelligence.
This was Trump’s first major international visit in his second term, and many momentous deals with eye-popping numbers were announced during the trip.
The numbers are truly historic. In Qatar, Trump announced Boeing’s “largest-ever” wide-body order for up to 210 jets, valued at US$96 billion.
In Saudi Arabia, Trump announced investment agreements worth over US$600 billion, including a US$142 billion arms deal—the largest in US history—involving missiles, radar systems, and transport aircraft.
In the UAE, Trump signed an agreement with the Gulf country to build the largest artificial intelligence campus outside the US.
All three petro states seem to outdo each other in impressing Trump through their larger-than-life opulence. Together, the tour symbolized how insane an amount of money the Gulf countries are willing to spend to keep the US on their side.
Commenting on the success of the trip, the White House said: “President Donald J. Trump’s first official trip was a huge success, locking in over $2 trillion in great deals—including a $600 billion investment commitment from Saudi Arabia, a $1.2 trillion economic exchange agreement with Qatar, $243.5 billion in U.S.-Qatar commercial and defense deals, and $200 billion in U.S.-United Arab Emirates commercial deals.”
“The companies securing these landmark deals are grateful for the Trump Administration’s leadership and the economic climate President Trump has fostered to make these agreements possible,” the statement added.
While all the deals were significant, some of them stood out for their size and scale.
Over US$ 2 Trillion Investment Agreements
Saudi Arabia has announced US$ 600 billion in investment agreements in the US.
The deals include US$ 2O billion in AI data centers, US$80 billion in cutting-edge transformative technologies, Boeing 737-8 passenger aircraft for AviLease totaling US$4.8 billion, GE Vernova’s gas turbines and energy solutions exports for US$14.2 billion, among others.
However, the highlight of the deals was the US$142 billion defense partnership agreement.
“The United States and Saudi Arabia signed the largest defense sales agreement in history—nearly $142 billion, providing Saudi Arabia with state-of-the-art warfighting equipment and services from over a dozen U.S. defense firms,” the White House said in a fact sheet.
While the government did not divulge many details, it said that the deals covered five broad spectrums of areas:
(1) Air Force advancement and space capabilities
(2) Air and missile defense
(3) Maritime and coastal security
(4) Border security and land forces modernization
(5) Information and communication systems upgrades.
Similarly, agreements signed by US President Donald Trump and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani will “generate an economic exchange worth at least US$1.2 trillion,” the White House said in a fact sheet summarizing some of the deals’ details.
The agreements include a historic US$ 96 billion deal with Qatar Airways to buy up to 210 Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 777X airplanes with GE Aerospace engines. This was Boeing’s “largest-ever” wide-body order.
In Abu Dhabi, President Trump announced over US$200 billion in commercial deals between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
“Boeing and GE Aerospace secured a $14.5 billion commitment from Etihad Airways to invest in 28 American-made Boeing 787 and 777X aircraft powered by GE engines,” the White House fact sheet said.
The deal with the UAE also includes building the largest artificial intelligence campus outside the US.
The agreement to build the campus would give the UAE expanded access to advanced AI chips. The fact sheet did not disclose which AI chips could be included in the data centers, but sources told Reuters the UAE could be allowed to import 500,000 of Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips annually, starting in 2025.
Together, Boeing and GE Aerospace have received orders worth over US$100 billion from the three Gulf countries. However, one crucial detail missing in these agreements was any specific mention of the F-35.
F-35: Still Missing From The Equation?
While the Defense deals are truly historic and full details are still awaited, many defense analysts believe that the package still didn’t include a potential sale of F-35 Lightning II stealth aircraft.
According to the White House fact sheet, the deal includes “Air Force advancement and space capabilities.” However, no specifics were forthcoming.
Notably, the Saudis have sought the F-35 for years. Last year, it was reported that the Saudis and the US were very close to a defense deal that reportedly included the F-35.
Saudi Arabia first officially expressed interest in acquiring F-35 stealth aircraft in 2017, days after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) made a similar request.
In December last year, it was reported that after years of the US blowing hot and cold on the potential F-35 deal, Saudi Arabia began exploring other stealth options.
The Turkish KAAN, an under-development fifth-generation stealth aircraft, was said to be the front runner in the contest. The UAE has also expressed interest in joining the Turkish KAAN program. However, no formal announcement has been made so far.
The biggest roadblock against the acquisition of the F-35 by Saudi Arabia and the UAE is the US’s obligation towards Israel. The US and Israel have a long-standing agreement that states US military equipment supplied to Israel must be “superior in capability” as compared to that sold to Israel’s neighbors.
This essentially means that the US weapons sales in the Middle Eastern region cannot jeopardize Israel’s “qualitative military edge.” Currently, Israel is the only operator of the F-35s in the entire Middle East.
Reuters reported that the US and Saudi Arabia discussed a potential Saudi purchase of the F-35 Lightning II, and Israel’s qualitative military edge came up.
“It was not clear if Washington would permit the kingdom to move forward with a purchase that would give Saudi Arabia an advanced weapon used by close U.S. ally Israel,” Reuters quoted an anonymous source as saying.
There was some speculation that now that the US has officially awarded the contract for the F-47 to Boeing, the next-generation fighter jet, the US might allow the sale of the F-35 to Gulf countries.
Further, in Qatar, Trump announced that the US might develop an F-35 upgrade, christened F-55, with twin engines. Lockheed has also announced plans to develop 5.5-Gen F-35 fighters. Whether that will be offered to someone remains to be seen.
Another option could be supplying the Saudis and Emiratis with F-35s and eventually arming Israel with next-gen F-47, as Trump has already hinted at exporting the”toned-down” fighters to key allies.
“Our allies are calling constantly, they want to buy them all,” he said at a press briefing, before claiming that America’s allies would get “toned-down versions.”
“We like to tone them down about 10 percent, which probably makes sense because someday maybe they’re not our allies, right?” the president said.
Ryan Bohl, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at the risk intelligence company RANE, told Business Insider, “To proceed with the F-35 package, it would have to be significantly downgraded to preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge.”
Bohl added that such downgrades might diminish the overall attractiveness of the sale to the Saudis. For now, it looks like the US is still not willing to sell the F-35s to the Gulf countries despite historic deals worth over US$2 trillion.
It cannot be ruled out that the US may look to eventually arm rich Gulf nations with F-35s (whose deliveries would start somewhere in 2030) while arming Israel with a “toned-down” version of F-47.
Interestingly. U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin posted an infographic on May 13, 2025, stating the F-47 will be operational within the 2025–2029 timeframe. This also aligns with Donald Trump’s announcement on March 21, 2025, indicating the aircraft could fly during his administration, which ends in January 2029.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from the University of Sheffield, UK.
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