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Europe and Canada Are Finally Saying No to the U.S. F-35 Stealth Fighter, Motivated By a Desire For “Strategic Autonomy” (nationalsecurityjournal.org)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/canada@lemmy.ca
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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. ...

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[–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

No credible expert believes that the US has any kind of “kill switch” in the F-35

Pentagon officially denies its existence, and the concept is seen as a security vulnerability. However, reliance on US-controlled software, mission data, and the supply chain for maintenance and upgrades means that the US could effectively disable a foreign operator's F-35s by withholding these critical components over time. The Pentagon denies "a physical kill switch" but that's just semantics, and the Pentagon lies every day.

We are simps for buying these planes.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    You're mistaking my correcting one common misunderstanding that gets spread about the F-35 for me somehow being a stalwart defender of the entire program. You can check my comment history and see that I've repeatedly expressed my feeling that we should kill the deal and get the Gripen instead.

    But, as I've already laid out in replies to your other comments repeating the same claim, as well as several other comments I've made here, there is absolutely zero credible evidence that a "kill switch" exists, and a mountain of evidence for why it would be almost impossible to achieve such a thing without discovery, and for why no one would ever bother in the first place.

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