Trump approves selling F-22 Raptor fighter jets to Israel: report
Move said to come as part as efforts to maintain Israel's qualitative military edge in region
US President Donald Trump's administration approved the sale of advanced F-22 Raptor fighter jets to Israel, Asharq Al-Awsat reported Friday.
According to the report, the announcement was made by US Defense Secretary Mark Esper during his talks with a high-profile Israeli delegation.
Washington also purportedly gave its nod to the prospect of selling precision-guided munitions to the Israel Defense Forces.
The report comes as the US appears all but set to sell the state-of-the-art F-35 stealth jets to the United Arab Emirates after it normalized its ties with the Jewish state.
On Tuesday, Haaretz reported that Israel sought to procure F-22 Raptors in an effort to maintain its qualitative military edge in the region.
The US reportedly rejected Israel's previous attempts to acquire the aircraft despite Jerusalem voicing its interest in doing so.
In 2011, the US wound down the production of the model and banned its sales overseas. In 2014, the jets made their first combat sorties as part of the US campaign against the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria.