Trump Offers F-35 Jet to India in Push for More Defense Deals

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Portugal No Longer Considering F-35 Purchase Due to White House Statements: Will This Become Trend or One-off | Defense Express

Portuguese F-16s are already nearing the end of their service life, and this is a potential contract for the purchase of new aircraft worth 5-6 billion US dollars, which the US now has minimal chances of obtaining
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Portuguese F-16s are already nearing the end of their service life, and this is a potential contract for the purchase of new aircraft worth 5-6 billion US dollars, which the US now has minimal chances of obtaining​


The consequences of Donald Trump's decision to suspend aid to Ukraine for a week and not to service the transferred weapons, including the F-16, along with threats of annexation towards allies, have caused a very powerful chain reaction. As a result, the question has arisen whether Washington has the ability to remotely disable its weapons, such as the F-35.

Although the White House does not have a magic button to simultaneously turn off US-made weapons used by buyers in other countries, the US actually controls what makes the F-35 a stealth aircraft. This is software that no US partner officially has access to. And the situation when, as it turns out, the entire combat capability of these fighters, and with them the entire defense capability of the country, depends on the decision of one person, few people are satisfied.

F-35 of the Royal Netherlands Air Force / Photo credit: NATO
The first official to directly voice this concern was Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo. When asked directly whether Portugal would purchase the F-35 to replace the F-16, whose service life is coming to an end, he replied that the usual world has changed and it is better to look for European alternatives.

"The recent position of the US in the context of NATO and at the international geostrategic level should make us think about better options, since the predictability of our allies is a more important factor to take into account. We must believe that in any circumstances these allies will be on our side. It is necessary to consider several options, especially in the context of European production, also taking into account the return that these options can bring to the Portuguese economy," he said in an interview with Publico.


Nuno Melo also added that the US can no longer be called a predictable ally and this could "lead to limitations in use, maintenance, components and everything related to ensuring that the aircraft is operated and used in all types of scenarios." That is, he made it clear that the option of replacing the 28 existing F-16s with the F-35 is no longer considered and that approximately 5-6 billion US dollars will pass away from the US and Lockheed Martin.

The cost of the aircraft in this photo is about 1 billion US dollars / Photo credit: US DoD
From the Defense Express side, we note that Nuno Melo does not really depend on his post in his statements, because the current Portuguese government received a vote of no confidence from the parliament, early elections for which are due to be held in May of this year. At the same time, similar thoughts about the purchase of American weapons are now emerging in many governmental offices around the world.

This happened because the actions of US President Donald Trump undermined the foundation of any partnership - trust. Its absence will be actively used by absolutely all competitors in the arms market. Moreover, now the government of any country that wants to purchase American weapons will have to withstand a barrage of criticism from the opposition, which is guaranteed to catch on to such a fertile topic.

Specifically, in the EU, there is an insistent call to buy European weapons, because the ReArm Europe plan requires it. That is, the situation for American gunsmiths is far from cloudless and it concerns not only the F-35, but all other weapons.

Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo says usual world has changed and it is better to look for European alternatives / Video screengrab
On the other hand, among American weapons and military equipment there are positions for which it will be very difficult to find competitors anywhere. In addition, Washington has a very significant lever of influence - the ability to impose a ban on the sale of those types of weapons that contain American components.
 
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Herciv said:
Not exactly because for sovereignty reason The portuguese defence minister have ask to reject F-35 and search for a european solution. In fact it was in total contradiction whith all tke otehr customers saying that there is no kill switch.
"The world has changed ... and this ally of ours ... could bring limitations to use, maintenance, components, and everything that has to do with ensuring that aircraft will be operational and used in all types of scenarios," Melo said.

Portugal rules out buying F-35s because of Trump​


The country’s air force has recommended buying the jets, but the outgoing defense minister said “the predictability of our allies” must be taken into account when making procurement decisions.

Portugal rules out buying F-35s because of Trump
“We cannot ignore the geopolitical environment in our choices," Portugal's outgoing Defense Minister Nuno Melo said. | Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Portugal ruled out replacing its U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets with more modern F-35s because of Donald Trump — in one of the first examples of the U.S. president killing a potential lucrative arms deal.

The country's air force has recommended buying Lockheed Martin F-35s, but when outgoing Defense Minister Nuno Melo was asked by Portugese media Público whether the government would follow that recommendation, he replied: “We cannot ignore the geopolitical environment in our choices. The recent position of the United States, in the context of NATO ... must make us think about the best options, because the predictability of our allies is a greater asset to take into account."

With the dramatic realignment taking place under Trump — who said again today he would annex Greenland and threatened Canada — there are fears the U.S. government could decide block access to software updates and spare parts needed to make the F-35 fully operational.
"The world has changed ... and this ally of ours ... could bring limitations to use, maintenance, components, and everything that has to do with ensuring that aircraft will be operational and used in all types of scenarios," Melo said.

He added: "There are several options that must be considered, particularly in the context of European production."

A spokesperson for the jet-maker said: "Lockheed Martin values our strong partnership and history with the Portuguese Air Force and looks forward to continuing that partnership into the future. The F-35 is the most advanced, survivable and connected fighter aircraft in the world, enabling 21st Century Security® and allied deterrence. Questions about foreign military sales of the F-35 are best addressed by the U.S. government."

Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans said earlier this week that the Netherlands would not cancel its contract for the jets. However, Lisbon hasn't signed a deal yet.

Portugal is holding a snap election after the collapse of its center-right government.
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Yeah. That kill switch not being real is bogus. I work with a bunch of software that will not work without updating to the latest version. Shutting down the F-35 can be as simple as an over-the-air type update we get on cell phones.
 
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randomradio said:
I wouldn't pay attention to their anti-Trump shenanigans. It's just a pressure tactic. The Canadians have already signed the deal, they can't back out now. Portugal can get away with it alongside Spain. Not sure if the Germans can back out too.
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And why can't we give them an AUKUS? :ROFLMAO:
 
F35 arguably one of best 5th gen fighter out There, but for us also it will come with lot of constraints,
1. The operational cost will be High, crew training & maintaince,
2. The aircraft would definitely need indian specific version,
3. Integrating indian weapons systems would be daunting task, the USA may or may not give permission if they do they will charge us in billions,
4. Operating the gold plated weapons also will be costly and Will be more dependent on USA for weapons too,

A fighter jet were we can't fire Astra mk3, Tara, SAAW, Rudram series,
And we still haven't got the delivery of GE404, we are heading towards middle of March and no News for engines delivery
The negotiations for GE414 is still stuck,

And we already saw in Feb USA threating saab for sanction on engine for selling gripen to columbia where the want to sell f16, they already done with Argentina Arm twisting them to buy f16, and the farce akus deal where the Australian are getting robbed in daylight,

Expect similar things if India goes with rolls Royce or saffran for AMCA engine production
 
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Herciv said:
en.defence-ua.com

Portugal No Longer Considering F-35 Purchase Due to White House Statements: Will This Become Trend or One-off | Defense Express

Portuguese F-16s are already nearing the end of their service life, and this is a potential contract for the purchase of new aircraft worth 5-6 billion US dollars, which the US now has minimal chances of obtaining
en.defence-ua.com en.defence-ua.com

Portuguese F-16s are already nearing the end of their service life, and this is a potential contract for the purchase of new aircraft worth 5-6 billion US dollars, which the US now has minimal chances of obtaining​


The consequences of Donald Trump's decision to suspend aid to Ukraine for a week and not to service the transferred weapons, including the F-16, along with threats of annexation towards allies, have caused a very powerful chain reaction. As a result, the question has arisen whether Washington has the ability to remotely disable its weapons, such as the F-35.

Although the White House does not have a magic button to simultaneously turn off US-made weapons used by buyers in other countries, the US actually controls what makes the F-35 a stealth aircraft. This is software that no US partner officially has access to. And the situation when, as it turns out, the entire combat capability of these fighters, and with them the entire defense capability of the country, depends on the decision of one person, few people are satisfied.

F-35 of the Royal Netherlands Air Force / Photo credit: NATO
The first official to directly voice this concern was Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo. When asked directly whether Portugal would purchase the F-35 to replace the F-16, whose service life is coming to an end, he replied that the usual world has changed and it is better to look for European alternatives.

"The recent position of the US in the context of NATO and at the international geostrategic level should make us think about better options, since the predictability of our allies is a more important factor to take into account. We must believe that in any circumstances these allies will be on our side. It is necessary to consider several options, especially in the context of European production, also taking into account the return that these options can bring to the Portuguese economy," he said in an interview with Publico.


Nuno Melo also added that the US can no longer be called a predictable ally and this could "lead to limitations in use, maintenance, components and everything related to ensuring that the aircraft is operated and used in all types of scenarios." That is, he made it clear that the option of replacing the 28 existing F-16s with the F-35 is no longer considered and that approximately 5-6 billion US dollars will pass away from the US and Lockheed Martin.

The cost of the aircraft in this photo is about 1 billion US dollars / Photo credit: US DoD
From the Defense Express side, we note that Nuno Melo does not really depend on his post in his statements, because the current Portuguese government received a vote of no confidence from the parliament, early elections for which are due to be held in May of this year. At the same time, similar thoughts about the purchase of American weapons are now emerging in many governmental offices around the world.

This happened because the actions of US President Donald Trump undermined the foundation of any partnership - trust. Its absence will be actively used by absolutely all competitors in the arms market. Moreover, now the government of any country that wants to purchase American weapons will have to withstand a barrage of criticism from the opposition, which is guaranteed to catch on to such a fertile topic.

Specifically, in the EU, there is an insistent call to buy European weapons, because the ReArm Europe plan requires it. That is, the situation for American gunsmiths is far from cloudless and it concerns not only the F-35, but all other weapons.

Portuguese Defense Minister Nuno Melo says usual world has changed and it is better to look for European alternatives / Video screengrab
On the other hand, among American weapons and military equipment there are positions for which it will be very difficult to find competitors anywhere. In addition, Washington has a very significant lever of influence - the ability to impose a ban on the sale of those types of weapons that contain American components.
Click to expand...
If they were serious. They would just buy typhoons or Rafales and join fcas or gcap.
 
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Rajput Lion said:
Without Uncle Sam's umbrella, they know that they're grossly screwed against the Russian bear. Thanks to the events in Ukraine, now Russians will modernize at a much faster pace and that's going to be real problematic for Europe.
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Portugal spends 1.5% of GDP on its defense which is $4.5 billion they were never considering F-35's and aren't getting Rafales or Typhoon unless they are used with little capability and very cheap. They will likely stick F-16's for years to come or go the New Zealand way and have no fighters.


If Pooty agrees to ceasefire/peace deal you can bet Trump will drop all sanctions on Russia. He already hinted at it and if it happens you can see a sorta economic boom happening in Russia. Europe is dying and Trump sees the writing on its wall with the islamic browning of Europe and many of its white population being retard/woke. Europe in 20 years will be an awful place and somewhat of a threat/rival to US. They will never be a military threat since they are pretty much a welfare state but still an eye needs to be kept on them.
 
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Picdelamirand-oil said:
And why can't we give them an AUKUS? :ROFLMAO:
Click to expand...

It's all just a distraction.

Europe needs to justify a rising defense budget to its population while cutting down on services instead of relying on growth, so instead of fixing income inequality they would rather blame Putin and Trump. This enemies-at-the-gate narrative also helps check the growth of nationalism.

So the F-35 will temporarily serve as a high-profile bullet in the trade war with the US.
 
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Rajput Lion said:
Without Uncle Sam's umbrella, they know that they're grossly screwed against the Russian bear. Thanks to the events in Ukraine, now Russians will modernize at a much faster pace and that's going to be real problematic for Europe.
Click to expand...

Problematic is an understatement.

India's modernization plan alone is so impressive, more than what Europe can do, and Russia has multiple times more funds.
 
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randomradio said:
The US is lucky to not have any Islamic Mexicans. But the trans agenda has screwed up the US too.

The greatest threat remains feminism for both. The first two have nothing on this.
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Dude the border is literally dead. Crossing has gone down to 94% and a lot of illegals are self deporting and we're just 60 days in. The trans agenda screwed up the democrat party they completely fcked this one up so badly that they can't move away from this issue even though 80% of Murrcans made it clear on this issue. Unless the democrats become the democrats of the late 80's early 90's (Bill Clinton) they are not going to win the 2028 prez election and they will likely lose house and senate seats in 2026 because this trans agenda is embedded within the dem party.

The threat to Trump getting his agenda done is not from democrats but from Republican establishment with many Senators that on the outside will go along with Trump but are ready to knife him in the back the moment an opportunity arises... luckily Trump knows this.

Europe needs the F-35 and they know it and are not going to jeopardize their defense capability because of mean orange man. They will publicly say a lot of sht but that is where it will end. They know if Putin agrees to a peace deal he is going to rearm and will become a bigger threat to Europe because Euros know they are at lest a decade away from reaching the higher defense spending they supposedly promised. It will be even worse for Europe if Trump pulls US forces out.
 
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Innominate said:
Dude the border is literally dead. Crossing has gone down to 94% and a lot of illegals are self deporting and we're just 60 days in. The trans agenda screwed up the democrat party they completely fcked this one up so badly that they can't move away from this issue even though 80% of Murrcans made it clear on this issue. Unless the democrats become the democrats of the late 80's early 90's (Bill Clinton) they are not going to win the 2028 prez election and they will likely lose house and senate seats in 2026 because this trans agenda is embedded within the dem party.
Click to expand...

That's actually part of what I mean. It would mean the lack of a political alternative and that creates a whole lot of different problems. The bigger issue being the American business world supports the Dems.

It temporarily works to the advantage of GoP, like winning the next election easily, but we are talking about the long term effects, say, 20 years, when all the trans-agenda ideologues, kids today, become voters and the leaders tomorrow. An entire generation of kids beaten with this hammer for over a decade. And add feminism to that along with the feminization of boys.

Innominate said:
The threat to Trump getting his agenda done is not from democrats but from Republican establishment with many Senators that on the outside will go along with Trump but are ready to knife him in the back the moment an opportunity arises... luckily Trump knows this.
Click to expand...

I think rogue GoP senators won't survive for long in their positions if they end up betraying GoP's newly acquired hold over the Senate.

Innominate said:
Europe needs the F-35 and they know it and are not going to jeopardize their defense capability because of mean orange man. They will publicly say a lot of sht but that is where it will end. They know if Putin agrees to a peace deal he is going to rearm and will become a bigger threat to Europe because Euros know they are at lest a decade away from reaching the higher defense spending they supposedly promised. It will be even worse for Europe if Trump pulls US forces out.
Click to expand...

Yeah, nothing they can do now. They have already bought in even if they don't wanna admit it.
 
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You do not say ! Just a coincidence that this thought occurred after the Greenland fiasco. Was all good (and will be all good after delivering a decent word salad explaining the decision) before.
 
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The F-35 was designed as a structural integration tool in the US military, much more than a stand-alone fighter. It only works fully with the US C4ISR architecture and requires ongoing technical support from Lockheed Martin and the Pentagon.

Until now, this dependence was seen as an advantage: it guaranteed buyers direct access to American military power. But this logic assumed that the United States would remain a reliable and constant ally. Now, with Trump 2.0 and his even more unpredictable entourage, that assumption is collapsing.

The countries that bought the F-35 never envisaged operating on their own. They accepted a form of vassalage because it guaranteed protection in exchange for the loss of autonomy. But today, the risk is that this dependence could become a trap:
  • If Trump decides not to defend certain allies, their F-35s will be unusable in critical situations.
  • If Trump imposes restrictions on use, buyers will find themselves bound hand and foot (cf. the ban on sending F-16s to Ukraine in the first place).
  • If the United States turns in on itself, the F-35-dependent nations will have to review their entire strategic posture.
Greenland is a good example. If Trump seriously considers annexing it (or at least making it a US-controlled territory), Denmark will lose all autonomy over its defence. Its F-35s will only be usable if Washington gives the go-ahead.

The same problem applies to Poland. If a conflict breaks out in the Baltic States, the Polish F-35 cannot be used without a green light from the US. Trump has already implied that NATO is a conditional protection.

The irony is that those who relied on the F-35 to guarantee their security are the most exposed today. And those who avoided the trap (France with its Rafale, Germany with its Eurofighter, even Sweden with its Gripen) find themselves paradoxically in a better position.

The current realisation is late in coming, but inevitable. Europe will not be able to back down easily on the F-35, but the question of real strategic military autonomy is becoming more pressing than ever.
 
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