Spain has officially announced it will not move forward with the procurement of US-made F-35 fighter jets. Instead, the country will prioritize domestically aligned defense options, focusing on European-developed aircraft. The confirmation came from Spain’s defense ministry following a report by El Pais, which revealed that the government had shifted its strategy away from Lockheed Martin’s flagship fighter jet.
The change in direction is believed to be influenced by rising tensions between Madrid and Washington, particularly surrounding Spain’s refusal to meet the US-demanded defense spending threshold of 5% of GDP. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s administration, which had previously earmarked €6.25 billion in the 2023 defense budget for new aircraft, has now redirected those funds toward other programs.
El Pais noted that Spain had considered acquiring as many as 50 F-35s, according to reports from British defense outlet Janes. However, the government’s new plan to allocate an additional €10.5 billion in defense expenditure for the year has excluded the F-35 from consideration. The focus will now be on supporting local and European manufacturing efforts.
Spain’s new defense priorities include investment in the Eurofighter Typhoon program and the next-generation aircraft developed under the European Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a joint initiative involving Dassault Aviation and Airbus. Although Sanchez has pledged to raise defense spending to meet NATO’s 2% GDP target by 2024, he has rejected increasing it to 5%, a move that led to US threats of retaliatory tariffs.
