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. …

  • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
    2·
    4 hours ago

    No credible expert believes that the US has any kind of “kill switch” in the F-35, for the record. Such a system would be almost impossible to completely conceal from the engineers who would have to maintain these planes

    A kill switch strawman implies crashing the plane in mid air. It is fully 100% confirmed that every single time you turn the plane on, your plane talks with Lockheed Martin in order to obtain permission to turn on. Israel, by coincidence, is the only country allowed to bypass this permission loop, with a special version of the F35.

    Any country not a slave colony of the empire would demand the same ownership functionality instead of disguising their colonial tribute with useless military hardware.

    • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
      2·
      3 hours ago

      Every version of this claim that I have ever seen has been flatly refuted or denied by every credible source.

      If you’d like to offer a source for this, I’d love to see it.

      • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
        1·
        3 hours ago

        To some people, credible sources on government shutdown is the democrats fault for wanting free healthcare for illegal immigrants.

        Just because something 100% factual wants to be suppressed doesn’t make the suppression credible sources. While F35s are free for Israel, there would not be a demand to customize the electronics as a deal breaker to accepting free aircraft with the F35I. All denials that F35s are “permission to use” diguised tributes to empire are complete lies. Denying that there is a kill switch is a distraction that its advanced avionics/electronics work only through LM permission.

        https://www.defensenews.com/air/2016/04/27/could-connectivity-failure-ground-f-35-it-s-complicated USAF concerns with the phone home system that Israel demanded to not be beholden to.

        • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
          1·
          34 minutes ago

          From your cited source;

          Losing connectivity to ALIS would be a pain, but hardly fatal, the JPO contends. If jets are unable to use ALIS — a ground-based system that provides sustainment and support, but not combat capabilities for the jet — the F-35 is still a usable plane. In fact, the worst case scenario would be that operators would have to track maintenance and manage daily squadron operations manually, just as older jets do.

          …

          Yes, the F-35 can take off and land without connecting to ALIS; yes, operators can make repairs without the logistics system, Pawlikowski said. But at some point users need to feed that information up to the central ALIS hub, she stressed.

          “I don’t need ALIS to put fuel in the plane and fly it, [I can] take a part and replace it if I have the spares there,” Pawlikowski said. “But somewhere along the line I’ve got to tell ALIS that I did it so that the supply chain will now know that that part has got to be replaced.”

          (emphasis mine)

          In short, the article you’re citing directly refutes your claim.

          • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
            1·
            34 minutes ago

            the article you’re citing directly refutes your claim.

            My claim was never a kill switch or remote control/detonation switch. That is what scum denies to distract from the point that the advanced electronics systems ((ALIS) requires permission every time they are turned on. I am not denying that you can still make a sporty trip to Epstein’s Island with the plane, if Canada were to resell it to you.

            • Voroxpete@sh.itjust.works
              1·
              22 minutes ago

              the advanced electronics systems ((ALIS) requires permission every time they are turned on

              No. It doesn’t. The article that you cited directly disproves that claim. I pulled several relevant quotes, in the comment you literally just replied to, which you apparently either didn’t read, or lacked the capacity to understand.

              I’m happy to have someone disagree with me and show their arguments for why they think I’m wrong, but if you’re going to throw out sources you haven’t read, then refuse to read the relevant parts of those sources when I spoonfeed them to you, we’re past the point of “discussion” or “argument” and well into “I could literally have a more enlightening conversation with my dog.”

              • humanspiral@lemmy.ca
                1·
                14 minutes ago

                This shouldn’t be hard. ALIS is core weapons targeting, and other maintenance/health analysis tool. The jet being able to take off or refuel is only part of its value.