A spokesperson for the Spanish Ministry of Defense announced on 6/8 that the government is "no longer considering" the acquisition of US-made F-35 stealth fighters. Instead, Spain will consider either the Eurofighter Typhoon or the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) currently under development. The spokesperson did not provide a reason for the decision.
When asked for comment, Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the F-35, stated that "arms exports are government-to-government transactions," emphasizing that this matter should be addressed by the US or Spanish governments.
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An F-35A fighter jet at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, USA in 9/2021. Photo: USAF |
An F-35A fighter jet at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, USA in 9/2021. Photo: USAF
El Pais previously reported that the Spanish government had allocated 7.2 billion USD in its 2023 budget for the purchase of new fighter jets. However, Spain's military spending plans for this year make this infeasible.
Earlier this year, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced plans to increase defense spending to meet the current NATO requirement of 2% of GDP by 2025. However, he refused to increase spending to 5% in the long term, despite pressure from the US and NATO allies.
The F-35 stealth fighter costs between 80 and 100 million USD per unit, depending on the variant. Approximately 1,000 units have been produced and delivered to the US military and its allies. The F-35 is expected to remain in service until 2088, and the program will cost over 2,000 billion USD to manufacture and maintain.
In addition to cost concerns, several US allies, including Canada and Portugal, have abandoned plans to spend billions of USD on F-35s following concerns about a potential "kill switch" that would allow the US to remotely disable the aircraft.
Even without a "kill switch," European militaries remain heavily reliant on the US for spare parts, software updates, and technical support. This allows Washington to exert pressure and even hinder allies' efforts to operate and deploy their equipment.
Nguyen Tien (According to AFP, AP, Reuters)
