Europe and Canada Are Finally Saying No to the F-35 Stealth Fighter
nationalsecurityjournal.org
Key Points and Summary – European nations and Canada are “pushing away” from the F-35, motivated by a desire for “strategic autonomy” and political friction with the Trump administration. -Spain officially canceled its F-35 purchase in August 2025, opting for European-built alternatives after PM Pedro Sanchez clashed with Trump over NATO spending. -Switzerland, meanwhile, is […]

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  • European nations and Canada are “pushing away” from the F-35, motivated by a desire for “strategic autonomy” and political friction with the Trump administration

  • Spain officially canceled its F-35 purchase in August 2025, opting for European-built alternatives. Switzerland is now also reviewing its 36-jet deal after being hit with a “shocking” $1.3 billion price hike and new 39% U.S. tariffs, and recent reports suggest that Portugal has not opted to purchase the U.S. jets

  • Instead of the F-35, they are increasingly looking to European alternatives, such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Future Combat Air System (FCAS).

  • Canada’s 88-jet deal is also in “limbo,” as PM Mark Carney, angered by Trump’s “51st state” comments and trade disputes, ordered a review of the 72 un-committed jets

  • Technological and industrial sovereignty are significant reasons why some countries are opting not to purchase the F-35. Some European nations prioritize developing their own defense industries and technological bases. Buying American-made F-35s would make them dependent on US supply chains and could suppress the development of their own next-generation aircraft programs. …

  • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
    1·
    3 hours ago

    It’s so effective in wargames it’s basically cheating. In the one actual deployment it’s seen it has an uptime as good as or better than older models. It now has a unit cost comparable to the Gripen, which is built in a much less high-tech way (for the sake of ruggedness and maintainability, on which it does still have the advantage).

    I’m reading complaints here, but you can complain about anything. I’m not even clear on how many are current, since it had a very rocky development and the article is mostly about the Block 4 upgrades.