Portugal drops plans for F-35 citing U.S. political uncertainty
Portugal drops plans for F-35 citing U.S. political uncertainty
The recent shift in U.S. policy toward NATO has led the Portuguese Defense Minister to deem a potential F-35 procurement unlikely. In an interview with
Summary
Portugal has abandoned plans to buy F-35 fighter jets due to concerns over the Trump administration’s NATO stance and potential U.S. restrictions on foreign-operated aircraft.
Defense Minister Nuno Melo cited unpredictability in U.S. policy as a key factor, despite earlier Air Force plans to replace aging F-16s with F-35s.
Portugal now considers European alternatives like the Rafale, Gripen, or Eurofighter.
The decision reflects growing European unease over U.S. defense commitments, with other nations likely to reconsider American-made military equipment.
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As we explained in detail in a previous article about the “kill switch” myth, according to which the U.S. government has the ability to remotely disable or limit the operational capabilities of foreign-operated F-35 fighter jets, international F-35 operators “are not allowed to conduct independent test operations outside of the Continental United States (CONUS) based on U.S. policy.
So, the only thing stopping this “myth” from becoming reality is a set of rules, not a physical obstacle or technical limitation. To me, that seems like a shallow reason to dismiss something as a myth.
We’ve already seen how much Trump respects the law, and how Elon is eager to dismantle/fire any regulatory agency/individual who is responsible for enforcement of inconvenient regulations.
The author of this article is alarmingly naive. Portugal is making a wise decision.
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And even if there's no kill switch, operating and maintaining the F-35 depends on expertise and supplies from the US.
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Yes. It’s just too easy to hobble the plane.
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So, the only thing stopping this “myth” from becoming reality is a set of rules, not a physical obstacle or technical limitation.
No, I think you've got it backwards.
There's no technical or electronic or mechanical kill switch. The method of limiting the use of the aircraft is entirely contractual agreements between the nations, telling the partners that they're not allowed to modify or test the aircraft without U.S. approval.
In other words, the kill switch itself is nothing but a set of rules, not a physical obstacle or technical limitation.
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Uh, reread the bit you quoted. We’re saying the same thing.
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We’re saying the same thing.
I read your comment to say "the only thing stopping the kill switch is rules," when I'm pointing out that "the only thing constituting a kill switch is rules," and those are two distinct ideas that have different implications.
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OOOOOH. I’m sorry. I misunderstood. Thanks for explaining!
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