Spain Drops F-35 Plans, Looks to European Alternatives

Despite the need to modernize, Spain shelves F-35 plans, leaving its Navy without a STOVL replacement.

The purchase of F-35 Lightning II aircraft, the fifth-generation American stealth fighter, for the Spanish Armed Forces has been definitively shelved, according to a report published by the Spanish newspaper El País, citing government sources.

Preliminary contacts that had already begun have been suspended indefinitely. Although the government approved a 10.471 billion Euro plan last April and has committed to spending 2% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on security and defense, the decision to invest 85% of these funds in Europe is considered incompatible with acquiring an American aircraft.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reaffirmed the goal of moving defense outla