‘Kill Switch’ Concerns: Portugal Considering Abandoning F-35 For Gripen E Fighters

<p >The Portuguese Defence Ministry in March 2025 initiated a reassessment of its air combat capability modernisation plans, with Defence Minister Nuno Melo at the time announcing the cancellation of plans to procure 27 to 28 F-35A fifth generation fighters under the “Air Force 5.3” modernisation program. The selection of the F-35 had previously been confirmed in April 2024 by Air Force Chief of Staff General Joao Cartaxo Alves. Concerns regarding the United States’ political reliability under the new Donald Trump administration were cited as causes for hesitation regarding the procurement of F-35, with Minister Melo having also cited potential restrictions on the Portuguese Air Force’s ability to operate the aircraft and receive a continued supply of spare parts. The ability of the U.S. Armed Forces to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/german-policymakers-concerned-american-kill-switch-disable-f35" >remotely disable</a> F-35s fielded by the aircraft’s foreign operators, likely using the fighter’s highly centralised ALIS and ODIN logistics systems, has been viewed with significant concern by several European states. As an alternative to replace Portugal’s ageing and obsolete fleet of Cold War era F-16AM/BM fighters, the Defence Ministry has shown an interest in procuring Swedish Gripen E/F ‘4+ generation’ fighters. Canada, which has already placed orders for the F-35A, has been <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/canada-talks-procure-gripen-f35-collapse" >confirmed</a> to similarly be considering procuring the aircraft and cancelling planned acquisitions of the F-35. </p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/04/20/article_6804593acd73a3_51474334.png" title="F-35 Fifth Generation Fighter"></p><p >Preceding the inauguration of the new administration in Washington, the F-35 continued to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/european-lost-finland-signs-f35" >gain new contracts </a>across the European continent,  including from Switzerland and Germany in 2021 and 2022 the latter which initially showed <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/german-once-fired-its-air-force-chief-for-supporting-the-f-35-now-it-will-order-f-35s-for-nuclear-bombing-missions" >signs of reluctance </a>to acquire the jets, F-35s have gone on to proliferate across lower income Eastern European countries with orders from former communist states such as Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania. Northern Europe has been among the fastest regions to adopt the aircraft. Norway in 2021 became the first country in the world to field a fleet <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/norway-fifthgen-engineer-shortage-f35-ground" >formed entirely</a> of fifth generation fighters, while Denmark received its first F-35s in late September 2023 and Finland placed its first orders for the aircraft in December 2021. The fighter has consistently been evaluated to be overwhelmingly superior to other Western fighters in its overall performance, with the partial exception of the F-15EX heavyweight fourth generation fighter which is significantly more costly.</p><p ><img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/04/20/article_68045a06dbbd96_35736342.jpeg" title="Gripen (flanks) and F-16 Fighters"></p><p > </p><p >The Gripen E/F is considered a ‘very light’ fighter from a smaller class than even regular lightweight fighters such as the F-16 or Chinese J-10, and is severely restricted in the size of its radar and weapons payload and in its flight performance. The fighter nevertheless has the advantages over the F-35 of very lo maintenance needs and operational costs, making it straightforward to sustain at high availability rates. As Portugal has one of the smallest defence budgets in Western Europe, and alongside Spain has the region’s lowest per capita GDP, procuring a less costly fighter may be considered adequate for the country’s future needs. Portuguese or Canadian orders would represent a major boon to the Gripen program, with the fighter having received only a single foreign order from Brazil, and consistently lost every tender in which it has competed against the F-35. Facing a lack of foreign interest in the aircraft, SAAB President and CEO Micael Johansson in August 2022  <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/ceo-of-sweden-s-saab-admits-extreme-frustration-as-clients-don-t-want-gripen-fighters-no-sales-for-over-eight-years" >informed reporters</a> of his “extreme frustration” at the lack of sales, blaming political factors for the lack of sales. Although the F-35 has consistently been evaluated to be a much more capable aircraft, a political rift between the United States and its European allies could represent a turning point for the aircraft’s future.  </p>

Source link