Spain shelves plans to buy F-35 fighter jets

Spain has decided to drop its plans to purchase F-35 fighter jets from U.S. defence contractor Lockheed Martin, according to a report by El Pais on Wednesday, citing unnamed government sources.

The Spanish government had allocated €6.25 billion ($7.24 billion) in its 2023 budget for new fighter aircraft. However, El Pais reported that the decision to direct the majority of this year’s extra €10.5 billion defence spending towards European initiatives ruled out the acquisition of the American-made jets.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had earlier committed to raising defence spending to meet NATO’s 2% of GDP target but declined to increase it to 5% during a June summit- a move that drew sharp criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who warned of potential new tariffs on Spanish goods.

Neither Spain’s Defence Ministry nor Lockheed Martin have issued a response to the report.

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