US Arms Sales in 2026: Saudi F-35s Approved, Taiwan's $14 Billion Air Defence Package Frozen After the Xi Summit
On 17 September the State Department notified Congress of a proposed sale of 48 F-35 fighters to Saudi Arabia, worth $24.3 billion. It would make Saudi Arabia the second country in the Middle East, after Israel, to fly the jet. The same month brought a $5 billion sale of more than 10,000 bombs and $750 million in tank engines to Riyadh.
Meanwhile a record $14 billion package for Taiwan, mostly Patriot interceptors and an integrated air defence command system, has been on hold since the President’s summit with Xi Jinping in Beijing in May. Taiwan’s defence minister said on 29 September that it was still pending.
The numbers
US arms transfers in fiscal 2025 totalled $331.2 billion, up about 4% on the year before, according to State Department figures released in March 2026. Foreign Military Sales, where the US government sells on behalf of US companies, fell 11.5% to $104.4 billion. Direct commercial sales, licensed deals between companies and foreign buyers, rose about 13% to $226.8 billion. Fiscal 2026 figures will come out early next year.
Faster sales
In April 2025 the President signed Executive Order 14268 to speed up foreign defence sales. It ordered priority lists of partners and weapons, proposed higher thresholds for notifying Congress, and asked for a review of limits on exporting large drones under the Missile Technology Control Regime. In November 2025 the Pentagon moved the agency that runs FMS, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, under its acquisition chief, to tie sales more closely to production.
The administration has also used emergency authority under the Arms Export Control Act to skip congressional review periods. According to the Congressional Research Service, Secretary of State Marco Rubio did so for sales to Israel in February 2025 and March 2026, and to the UAE, Jordan, Kuwait and Qatar in March and May 2026, as the war with Iran drew down stocks of interceptors.
Taiwan
Taiwan’s undelivered backlog of US weapons stood at $29.7 billion in April 2026. In December 2025 the US notified an $11.1 billion package including HIMARS rocket launchers and Paladin howitzers. In May 2026 Taiwan’s legislature passed a special defence budget of about $24.8 billion over eight years, down from the government’s request.
The $14 billion air defence package would be the largest ever. Its delay has drawn bipartisan criticism. Before the summit, a group of senators wrote to the President urging him not to hold up sales. Washington has historically said its arms sales to Taiwan aren’t a subject for negotiation with Beijing. The pause tests that line, and fits a pattern also seen in the chip export decisions.
Ukraine
Ukraine now gets US weapons mostly through PURL, a NATO arrangement launched in July 2025 under which allies pay for US equipment. In its first year 29 countries pledged $6.7 billion, led by Norway, the Netherlands, Germany and Canada.
The role of Congress
Congress gets notice of large sales: 30 days for most countries, 15 for NATO members and five close partners. It can block a sale with a joint resolution, but the President can veto that, and Congress has never successfully blocked a sale. Members’ influence comes mostly from informal holds before formal notification. The Saudi F-35 sale has drawn objections over the risk of US technology reaching China. Whether anyone tries a resolution of disapproval will show how much Congress still wants a say.