Internal reports, including one from the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, say China could acquire U.S. jet technology through spying or cooperation with Saudi Arabia. An F-35 jet seen last year. Saudi Arabia and the United States have a decades-long history of military cooperation, and the kingdom is by far the largest buyer of American weapons and defense equipment.

Edward Wong and Dustin Volz Edward Wong is a former Iraq war correspondent and Beijing bureau chief who has written a book on China. Dustin Volz reports on technology and espionage from Washington. Sept. 16, 2026 Updated 7:14 p.m. ET U.S. intelligence officers have expressed concerns in internal reports about possible Chinese espionage related to a pending sale of dozens of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia valued at $24 billion, according to American officials.

Intelligence analysts have raised the possibility that China could acquire F-35 jet technology through spying in Saudi Arabia or through its military and security partnership with the kingdom, the U.S. officials said. One detailed report issued by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency months ago discusses Chinese military access to Saudi bases and Saudi Arabia’s use of Chinese technology in its telecommunications infrastructure, an official said. It also questions whether the Americans and Saudis will be able to maintain secure sites for the F-35 technology, the official said.

That report has circulated among several administration agencies and congressional offices, as have assessments from other intelligence offices. The D.I.A. issued a more general report in the fall of 2025 on similar risks when the administration was discussing the possibility of the sales, The New York Times reported at the time. President Trump then announced the sale the day before he hosted Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, at the White House in November.