Spain has decided against purchasing U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets and would instead opt for European-made options, the country’s defense ministry said Wednesday, confirming an earlier report in El Pais newspaper.
The decision comes after the tension between Madrid and Washington over Spain’s refusal to raise defense spending to 5.0% of economic output, as demanded by U.S. President Donald Trump.
El Pais reported earlier Wednesday, citing unnamed government sources, that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s leftist government had shelved plans to buy the F-35 jets and would explore European alternatives.
The government had earmarked 6.25 billion euros ($7.25 billion) in its 2023 budget to buy new fighter jets. British defense publication Janes had reported that Spain was considering the purchase of up to 50 F-35 units, the newspaper said.
But the government’s plan to spend the bulk of the additional 10.5 billion euros in defense spending announced for this year rules out the purchase of the F-35 jets, it added.
The aircraft are made by U.S. aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.
A defense ministry statement said the Spanish option involved the European-made Eurofighter and fighter jets made by the European Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project, whose primary industrial partners are Dassault Aviation and Airbus.
Sanchez announced earlier this year plans to increase spending on defense this year to meet the NATO target of 2.0% of economic output set in 2024.
But he later refused to raise spending in the longer run to 5.0%, prompting Trump to threaten Spain with additional tariffs.
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