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. ...

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] sirspate@lemmy.ca 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

I would be surprised if China doesn't have an F-35 equivalent at this point, though realistically I think they're betting on their ability to backdoor and take down adversary electronics as being part of that 'stealth' solution.

[–] Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works 0 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

Well, we know that they do, but we don't know very much about its real capabilities.

However I don't think there's any realistic way to backdoor a fighter jet in flight. That's one of the myths that was being pushed by people like Burton and Sprey because they were opposed to any kind of advanced technology in a fighter plane. We're talking about people who literally thought that planes shouldn't have radar.

In reality, these things aren't flying around hopping WiFi. Every single electron of communication into and out of a stealth fighter is more tightly controlled than gold bars in Fort Knox. There's basically no more tightly controlled communications and electronics platform in the world than an airborne F-35.