The F-35 could be a victim of Trump’s sour relationship with Europe: NPR

The rising tensions with NATO over Ukraine and President Trump’s escalating trade war have put key aspects of the alliance’s air force strategy at stake as it suggests that member states can move away from plans to buy F-35 fighter jets.

The F-35 is currently run by the US and 19 allies, including non-Natal members such as South Korea, Japan, Australia and Israel. However, several NATO members are now preparing to acquire dozens of new F-35s to replace aging fleets, including US, Europe and even Cold War-era Soviet-made fighters.

However, on Thursday, the Portuguese Minister of Defense pointed to “recent US stance in the NATO context” as a factor in reconsidering the replacement of the F-35 Lightning IIS of the 28 F-16s. Meanwhile, in one of his first actions as prime minister, Canadian Mark Carney called for a review of his country’s decision to purchase a total of 88 F-35s. This is a contract worth over $13 billion. German orders for 35 planes are also being questioned.

The concept of the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, which ultimately became the F-35, dates back decades. The US will lead the development of aircraft used throughout NATO. With Air Force, Navy and Marine variants, planes have advanced stealth capabilities and cutting-edge sensors, radar and avionics, which serve as air-to-air combat, ground attack and reconnaissance. The F-35 is plagued by large cost overruns and technical issues under development. But in the end, some claims emerged as claiming to be the best fighter in the world.

“The F-35 is a very good aircraft with best-in-class rebellion capabilities and low observability,” said Richard Aboulafia, managing director of Aerodynamic Advisory, aerospace consultant. If NATO “will lose its ability,” he says.

There are benefits to NATO using the same plane

Benefits for allies sharing the same aircraft design include a single communications platform, a common “hardpoint” for carrying NATO ammunition, ease of training pilots and maintenance crews, and the ability to share spare parts.

“With the same equipment, it’s easier to fight your allies,” says Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry, who was a key advocate for the F-35 project while in Congress. He says the real importance of the US allies leaving the F-35 is that “NATO cohesion will be even worse.

Lockheed Martin, the leading F-35 contractor, said in a statement to NPR that he places emphasis on strong partnerships between the Canadian Air Force and the Portuguese Air Force, but mentioned questions about foreign military sales to the US government.

For countries rethinking the F-35, one possible option is the Saab Jas-39 Gripen, built in Sweden, which is the Saab Jas-39 Gripen. It has the added benefit of lower operating and maintenance costs, much cheaper than the F-35.

Margaret Cosar, a former Department of Defense official who is an associate professor at Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn International School, has seen symptoms of widening mistrust within the alliance and sudden unease over the F-35 since Trump took office.

“I see it as a potential canary in the mine, indicating a lack of confidence in the US,” she says.

Fear of “kill switch”

In the controversy, European media has raised concerns about the “kill switch” that the US can use to disable the F-35, despite European defense officials trying to counteract the rumors. Earlier this month, Belgian defence chief General Frederick Vancina claimed that the F-35 was “not a remote control aircraft,” but Switzerland said such a device was not possible.

Even if the “kill switch” is a myth, rumors probably indicate a lack of trust, Abrafia says. “You know, people may be seeing this plane and saying, ‘Yeah, we don’t want to give the US money, but we’re also worried that they’ll cut off their assistance if some kind of conflict arises.” ” “

In Europe, given the view that Trump is abandoning NATO in favour of the Kremlin, Europe may be concerned that in a hypothetical future conflict with Russia, Europe could block the US from spare parts and updates on the F-35, Abrafia said.

Meanwhile, the F-35, whose government’s Office of Accountability projects cost the US more than $2 trillion through the lifespan of the program, is also facing growing criticism at home.

On X, Elon Musk, who is looking for a place where efficiency teams can cut federal spending, calls the F-35 “a expensive and complicated jack of all trades,” posts a video of a flock of drones, commenting, “On the other hand, some idiots are still building manned fighter jets like the F-35.”

Aboulafia calls Musk’s claim that the F-35 could easily be replaced with a remote pilot aircraft “to be a complete fantasy for so many different reasons,” pointing out that “as an example, it used a fleet of short-range quadcopters that would be about 30 miles before falling out of the sky.” Trump has been critical of planes in the past.

Washington Democrat Adam Smith, a ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, called for the F-35 project for a cost overrun. He states the following about the plane: “It’s like getting a quarterback in the NFL.

Still, Smith says, “If you’re looking for a partner in the fight, if they don’t have the same platform, it makes it difficult.”

The US is also rethinking the F-35

Seth Jones is the chairman of the Defense and Security Division of the Centers for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and admits that “the United States itself is rethinking the purchase of the F-35.”

Can NATO fight without the inherent benefits of operating a single type of aircraft, such as the F-35?

“That would have a negative impact,” says Cosar of Georgia Tech. “But it will not deteriorate significantly” ability.

Jones says the F-35 has “extraordinary capabilities” that are difficult or impossible to replicate on existing aircraft.

“(It) has the ability to move inside the denial of anti-aircraft access bubble with stealth capabilities for both gathering and firing information,” and there are either traditional or nuclear ammunition.

Still, he says that if NATO countries are now committed to spending more on defense, Trump has long demanded – procuring fighter jets in Europe might make more sense to them. Jones refers to Portugal, but Portugal has not yet added the F-35 to its armory.

“(IT) could be a more logical decision, especially for Portugal, if we start to see more of the European defence identity… to pull something away from the European production line that we have to rely on the US.”