Spain has decided against purchasing US-made F-35 fighter jets and will instead opt for European-made options, the defence ministry said Wednesday, amid calls by Donald Trump for the EU to make investments worth $600 billion in the US.
The decision comes after the tension between Madrid and Washington over Spain’s refusal to raise defence spending to 5.0 percent of economic output, as demanded by US President Donald Trump.
El País 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 ($7.25 billion) in its 2023 budget to buy new fighter jets. British defence publication Janes had reported that Spain was considering the purchase of up to 50 F-35 units, the newspaper said.
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But government’s plan to spend the bulk of the additional €10.5 billion in defence spending announced for this year rules out the purchase of the F-35 jets, it added.
The aircraft are made by US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin.
A defence 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.
Sánchez announced earlier this year plans to increase spending on defence to this year meet the Nato target of 2.0 percent of economic output set in 2024.
But he later refused to raise spending in the longer run to 5.0 percent, prompting Trump to threaten Spain with additional tariffs.
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